


Mhi Ba'juri Verde

by CT_1205



Series: Mhi Ba'juri Verde [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Background Blyla, Background Boxer, Background Codywan, Clonecest, Discussion of Abortion, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fix-It, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mpreg, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smoking, Umbara is a Spooky Place (Star Wars), Unplanned Pregnancy, background anidala
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 49,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27173938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CT_1205/pseuds/CT_1205
Summary: “Fives, please,” Rex begged. He opened his mouth to speak again and faltered. Fives was terrified to see his husband’s eyes fill with tears for a moment before they were blinked away. Rex’s voice wavered when he was able to talk again. “I’m going to explain everything, I swear. But when I do, everything changes, Fives and I’m not ready for that yet. So, please, please, go take a shower and let me pretend for five more minutes.”Or, biology is a little weirder, Rex is a little bolder, Fives is a little louder, and the galaxy is better off for it.
Relationships: CT-27-5555 | Fives | ARC-5555/CT-7567 | Rex, CT-5597 | Jesse/CT-6116 | Kix, Riyo Chuchi/CC-1010 | Fox
Series: Mhi Ba'juri Verde [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078775
Comments: 100
Kudos: 141
Collections: Captain Rex Stuff





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you so very much for clicking on my little story. I hope you enjoy it! If you do, comments and feedback would be oh so greatly appreciated. If you want to chat some more, I can be found on Tumblr under Mockingjay34.

Rex woke to the sound of Fives’s alarm blaring through the room at 0500 and tried desperately to snuggle back down into the bed even as it shifted with Fives rising for the day. For the first time in a standard month, he had the opportunity to sleep in, and he wanted to take it, damn it.

Despite his best intentions not to disturb Rex any further, Fives was like a bantha in an Alderaanian antique shop as he made his way across their room, tripping over this own wayward boot while collecting his clothes for the day and opening the door to their private ‘fresher with it’s aggressively bright lights. Once Fives was finally settled in the shower and Rex heard the water kick on, he turned over onto his back and sighed tiredly at the ceiling. He closed his eyes for a moment longer before getting up and following Fives into the ‘fresher, fighting back the typical wave of nausea that never failed to remind him of his impending heat.

Shucking his clothes onto the ‘fresher floor, he slid back the curtain of the shower and stepped in behind Fives, forcing them back to chest in the tiny space.

Fives snorted when he felt Rex wrap his arms around his torso and lean his head down against his shoulder. “Tired, _cyare_?” He asked, amused by how soft his usually stoic _riduur_ was acting.

“Mmhm,” Rex groaned, content to relax under the warm water.

After rinsing the suds from his own hair, Fives carefully maneuvered them to switch spots and began to rub a soapy wash cloth across Rex’s skin. Rex hummed in satisfaction and basked in the care from his husband. Fives wasn’t ignorant to his misery leading up to his heat, and wanted to make him as comfortable as possible, especially when Rex woke up sick and more tired than he was when he laid down the night before.

When their warm water ration finally began to run out, Fives switched off the shower and led the way out of the ‘fresher. The pair pulled on their matching red, off-duty fatigues in silence. It was a hyperspace travel day, full kit not necessary.

Rex sat down on the bed and reached for a cigarette to start his day, carefully blowing smoke towards the return vent in the wall and Fives started towards their caff pot, but stopped before he touched the on button, remembering a few days earlier when the scent of caff permeating the room made Rex run for the ‘fresher and lose the previous night’s dinner into the toilet. Pre-heat, Rex had explained after brushing his teeth for a second time that morning. Fives decided the caff in the mess hall would be fine to start his day with until his _riduur_ could tolerate the smell again.

The pair were undisturbed as they made their way to the mostly empty mess hall. The battalion was making its way back to Coruscant from the Outer Rim, and a full operating crew wasn’t necessary. Most troopers were still sound asleep in their bunks, like Rex would have been if Fives hadn’t been in charge of Torrent Company’s training for the day.

They each grabbed a tray full of decently palatable food, and Rex went to sit down in their usual spots on the far side of the room. Fives followed shortly after with his steaming mug of caff and sat a glass of juice in front of Rex on the table. Rex gave Fives a soft, sleepy smile, and they settled in for breakfast.

***

On a regular day between missions in the Outer Rim, every company in the 501st trained rigorously to keep up with the demands of the war. The troopers would spend hours every single day pushing themselves further and further through obstacle courses and weight training and target practice. They were a fierce battalion that saw some of the hardest battles in the war, and their day to day lives reflected it.

Generals like Anakin Skywalker, however, were still able to look out at their battalions and, despite their military prowess, see hundreds of exhausted men in need of a break. So, when the war didn’t depend on them for a moment, like traveling back to home base after long months spent defending the galaxy, training tended to be somewhat… relaxed.

And that is why Torrent Company reported for their training in casual fatigues to find that their usual regimen had been replaced with a company wide bolo-ball tournament, courtesy of Rex and Fives and their early morning planning. Every company was allowed to choose something different for training that day, with the only requirements being that it was enjoyable and different from the regular routine. Anakin insisted that quiet days in the war be savored. They never knew how many they would get the longer the conflict dragged on.

So, with the teams divided up, Rex, decidedly more awake after spending the early morning sorting the teams, took his place guarding the goal at one end of the training room and smirked challengingly at Fives standing guard on the other side. A whistle sounded off somewhere to the side of the playing field, and the game was off.

It was the dirtiest game of bolo-ball Rex had ever witnessed, with elbows thrown and tackles dealt and insults about non-existent mothers flying through the air. Rex heard Hardcase grown in defeat more than pain as his _ shebs _hit the floor when Jesse took out his legs in a move Rex was sure he had never seen in the Galactic Cup. The teams stayed neck and neck almost the entire game, and Rex was invigorated by the sounds of the _vode _around him enjoying themselves.

“Captain!” Someone yelled out, and Rex glanced up to watch a shinier trooper propel the ball towards the goal he was meant to be guarding. Rex dove to the left to stop the ball, and just his luck, it glanced off the edge of his left hand and fell out of bounds. Cheers rang out across his team at the near miss, and Rex was elated for a moment before the pain hit.

“Karking hell!” He exclaimed from his new spot on the floor. He jerked his left hand to his chest and hissed as the whole joint erupted with electric shocks of pain.

He sat there for a moment eyes squeezed shut against the ache as the playing field fell to a stand-still. Rex opened his eyes just as Fives made it across from the other goal and crouched down next to him.

“Let me see, _cyare_ ,” he said quietly as he carefully pulled Rex’s arm away from his chest and looked it over.

“I’m fine, Fives. It just caught me off guard,” Rex said, refusing to be coddled.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s broken. You need to go to medbay and get it checked out.”

“Oh come off of it, it’s just a wrist. I’ve had worse,” Rex scoffed.

Fives looked at him in exasperation. “Yeah, I’m sure you have. Doesn’t mean a medic shouldn’t look it over. Come on, Rex. Let’s get your sorry _shebs _off the floor,” he replied, standing up and offering Rex his hand to help him up.

Rex sighed as he took the proffered hand and was pulled back onto his feet. “Right before leave, of course.”

“Eh, I’m sure we’ll find a way to enjoy ourselves,” Fives replied quietly as he walked with Rex across the training room to the door.

“Don’t make those eyebrows at me,” Rex replied, slapping him playfully with his uninjured arm.

Fives laughed at his affronted expression. “Do you want me to go to medbay with you?” He asked when they reached the doors.

“Nah,” Rex said. “I’ll be fine. Stay and enjoy yourself with the boys and I’ll just meet you later tonight for dinner. Before I go, can you put my bracelet on my other wrist before this gets any more swollen?”

“Yeah, just let me see here,” Fives mumbled, taking Rex’s left wrist in hand again and carefully releasing the slipknot of the leather bracelet he wore and wrapping it around his right wrist instead, Fives’s own matching leather cord slipping farther down his arm as he worked. When he was finished, he pulled Rex in by his right arm and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you in bit.”

Rex took back his arm and smiled at Fives before making his way to the medbay.

***

Rex walked into the medbay still clutching his injured wrist close to his chest to avoid any hurried troopers. He found the medbay itself blissfully silent, with only a few beds occupied by brothers that would likely be back in their bunks by that evening. When the doors slid open, Rex immediately caught the attention of Coric leaning against the desk of a data console across the room. He watched as the medic’s eyebrows pulled together with a playful glare as he made his way across the room.

“What can I do for ya, Captain,” Coric asked cheerfully.

“Oh, just thought I’d come by to chat,” Rex replied, pointedly ignoring his obviously injured wrist.

Coric rolled his eyes and said, “Follow me.”

Rex fell into step behind him as the made their way to the other side of the communal space and down a hall to an exam room. He made his way to the biobed against the far wall of the matchbox room and settled down.

“Alright, sir, what have you done?”

Rex held his arm out to Coric and winced slightly at the feeling of his hands against the sensitive joint, “Bolo-ball with a vendetta. Fives seems to think I broke it.”

Coric rolled his eyes and snorted. “Well, he would certainly know wouldn’t he?”

As an ARC trooper, Fives was the wrong man to make an enemy of. He was a ruthless opponent and tactically sharp with a mind designed for infiltration and creating battle plans.

Off the battle field, Fives was tragically clumsy and careless, having broken enough fingers, toes, and various other limbs in dumb accidents to impress even the most seasoned medic. He was the horror story they told new medics on their first day in the battalion, and he lived up to the reputation.

After turning Rex’s hand over and back again for a moment, he released it in favor of picking up his datapad and pulling up Rex’s file. “Well, sir, I’m gonna run a quick scan over it, but I would guess Fives is right and you’re gonna need a split and some bacta tablets for about a week,” Coric said while grabbing a disc off a charging station on the counter. “Just hold your arm out straight, palm down, and this should be over in a moment.”

Rex did as he was told and Coric tapped a button on the side of the disk. It lifted out of his palm and floated over Rex’s arm, a beam of light scanning over the limb.

“Hmmm, just as I thought,” Coric said as the disk came back to settle in his palm again. “You’ve got a little crack in your wrist.” He crossed over to the counter again and set the little droid on its charging station again, then picked up his datapad and typed quickly.

“I’m just gonna have one of the shinies bring us a splint and the tablets. Although, before you go sir, I have a note on your chart that you’re due for your wellness exam. If you want to do that while you’re here, you won’t have to make an appointment later. I could probably have it done in 15 minutes or so if you would like?”

Rex turned his eyes towards the ceiling and groaned internally. “I guess let’s get it over with.”

“Great!” Coric called, pulling open drawers and gathering equipment. “First things first, roll up the sleeve of your top for me so I can draw some blood.”

Rex did as he was told and waited patiently while Coric inserted the needle and collected his vials as quickly as possible. When he was done, he attached the vials to a reader on the side of his datapad and set the device aside to wait for results while he took Rex’s vitals.

By the time the datapad chimed with results, Rex’s wrist had been wrapped tight in a split and Coric had almost completely finished making his way down the list of things the GAR required he check.

Coric picked up his datapad again and quickly flipped through the results. Rex watched him as he flipped back and forth through the result for a moment too long before he finally looked up and said, “If you’ll excuse me just a moment, Captain, I have to have the CMO sign off,” before he scurried from the room.

When the door to the exam room opened again, Rex was surprised to see Kix walk in instead of Coric. He pulled up the stool that sat under the data console and plopped down in front of Rex on the biobed. “Afternoon, Rex. Coric tells me you’re having rough day.”

Rex looked at him suspiciously before speaking, “I wouldn’t count a broken wrist as a high point. But now I’m a little worried I’m about to die seeing as they’ve sent in cavalry.”

Kix huffed an exasperated laugh at him. “Nothing so dramatic. Coric came to me with his datapad putting out some weird reading. Damn thing is probably karked, knowing our budget. He was more comfortable with me coming in to make sure. Good kid, better medic, a little shiny around the gauntlets is all,” he said and Rex snorted as Kix propelled himself backwards on his stool to dig around in a drawer behind him. Closing it, he rolled himself back towards the bed, waving around a little blood draw kit victoriously. “You know the drill, _vod_. Sleeve up, small pinch.”

When he was finished, Kix again, to Rex’s amusement, rolled his way across the room to the data console inset in the wall and inserted the vials for testing. Making his way back to Rex, he flipped through his datapad for a few moments, marked things down with a stylus, and preemptively signed his designation at the bottom before looking up at Rex again. “Alright, before I can put your official report in for the powers that be, I have to cover a few things Coric didn’t get to. So,” he said as he glanced down to the list, “I am going to assume you’re still sexually active, so how is your heat cycle?”

“As normal as ever. Just about every 90 days,” Rex answered with an eye roll.

“Great. Do you know when your next one is due?”

“Should be around the middle of next week.”

“During shore leave. If only we were all as lucky,” Kix snorted.

“I take it you weren’t?”

“Not this time. Hit early right at the beginning of the campaign. Threw poor Jesse right into his rut with me. We both spent the entire thing on suppressants and scent blockers on opposite sides of camp,” he answered with a grimace.

Rex groaned in sympathy. Adjusting to life as an alpha or omega in a military designed for betas had been difficult for everyone involved. Growing up on Kamino, designations were never discussed outside of medic training, and provisions were never made in case any soldiers presented as anything other than beta. As far as anyone was aware, all clones left Kamino believing they were betas and nothing more. Everything changed about a year into the war when rumors of an omega clone in the 212th began to circulate. The strange case of Boil suddenly presenting at the actual age of 11, biologically 21, proved not to be an isolated incident. Rex wasn’t far behind, followed closely by Kix, then Jesse as one of the first alphas in the 501st. From the Coruscant Guard all the way to the battalions in the Outer Rim, alpha and omega clones started appearing. As far as the medics could deduce, it seemed the advanced development the clones underwent during the first ten years of their lives interfered with their hormone development. Thus, they only started presenting when they began to age at a normal human speed. It was a phenomenon about as common as being decanted with a physical defect like blonde hair or blue eyes and it became the second best kept secret in the GAR, just after the relationships between soldiers. As far as anyone in the general public was aware, the GAR was made up of unmated, beta clones. The Jedi quietly supplied the affected clones with supplies like suppressants, scent blockers, and birth control, and the war raged on.

Jesse and Kix were the only mated alpha-omega pair in the 501st, although far from the only mated pair. Rex had spent a couple heats on suppressants, sweating through his armor on a battlefield and pining for his husband, and Fives was a beta. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for _riduure_ like Jesse and Kix.

“That must’ve been rough,” Rex said.

“Yeah, well, we made up for it,” Kix said with a cheeky grin.

He found himself groaning again at the medic’s boldness. Rex had always hated being in the medbay, but Kix was so good at what he did because he tried to make it easier, even if he did have to resort to cheap sex jokes sometimes.

“I’m sure you did,” he replied, rolling his eyes again. 

Kix laughed and gave Rex a kind smile. “So, how’s the pre-heat?”

Rex reached his left hand up to rub at the back of his neck before he remembered the splint Coric had placed him in and settled it back down in his lap. He let out a long breath and answered, “Worse than usual. Vomiting instead of nausea. Feel like I could fall into a coma. I’ve been getting by on ration bars and tooka naps for the past week. I just chalked it up to the stress.”

“That could be it, but I’ll know a little more when your blood work is finished. Why don’t you lay back for me and let me do a quick scan."

Rex pulled his legs up onto the biobed he was sat on, and laid down flat. He watched as Kix pushed the top half of his fatigues higher up on his chest and pressed down lightly on his stomach. “Anything hurt?” he asked.

“No.”

Kix nodded and pressed a button on the same little disc-shaped droid Coric had used earlier. It spun around for a moment, calibrating, before the beam of light ran up and down Rex’s prone form. When it was done, it settled itself back into Kix’s waiting palm, and Rex watched curiously as he pulled a small data drive from the port on its side he hadn’t notice the medic place.

Kix opened his mouth to speak when the data console on the other side of the small room let out a chime, demanding attention. “You can sit up,” Kix said, crossing the room and slyly slipping the data drive into the port on the side before clicking through the results displayed on the screen. Rex watched as he unconsciously nodded his head a couple times before taking a breath and closing his eyes for a moment too long. When he opened them again, his mask was back in place. Kix closed his window, removed his data drive from the console, and slipped it into the pocket of his blue scrub pants.

When Kix sat back down on the vacant stool, he was more reserved, the smile on his face more forced. There was a tenseness to his shoulders that hadn’t been there before.

Cutting him off before he could even begin his thought, Rex asked, “What’s wrong, Kix?”

The medic sat in silence for a moment longer before glancing off to the side in a way that Rex could only describe as fidgety.

Finally, he spoke. “Coric didn’t come to me because of a faulty datapad. Well, he did, and that’s why I double checked your labs, but he was worried because some of your hormone levels were elevated and he wanted me to double check.”

When Kix paused for a breath, Rex cut in again, “What does that mean? Is there something wrong with me Kix?”

Rex watched as Kix’s gaze steeled against the weight of his words. “You’re not in pre-heat,” he began. “Rex, you’re pregnant, _vod_.”

Early in the war, during the Battle at Point Rain, General Skywalker and Commander Tano launched Rex over the side of a bridge before it blew with explosives, but that wasn’t the first time he’d experienced that feeling of free-falling dread. Way back when he was a cadet on Kamino, around the age of 4 or 8 depending on how you looked at it, Rex was playing tag with his batchmates on a vacant landing pad. He ran too close to the edge of the platform trying to escape Fox and his foot slid off followed closely by the rest of him, and for a moment he was in free-fall. It was pure dumb luck that Jango had seen him fall from a nearby landing pad, and caught him in midair, long before he ever would have impacted the freezing water below.

For a moment after Kix spoke, Rex was 4 years old again and his stomach had fallen down to the bottom of his feet and there was a ringing in his ears that sounded distinctly like Fox screaming out his name in panic. A chill ran down his spine and prickled his skin with goose flesh, and the edges of his vision went fuzzy and gray like that time his HUD cracked on one side after being hit with shrapnel.

He knew, somewhere in the distant part of his mind, that it had been much too long since Kix had spoken and he was supposed to answer but when he tried to open his mouth to speak, the hinges of his jaw locked tight and his teeth ground together. Just as well, as his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth like when the battalion ran low on water on a desert planet. Rex wished he was in the scorching heat, because he was suddenly awfully cold, and he wanted to be anywhere than where he was.

Fox’s screams had finally died down and sounded more like a distant whisper of his name over and over again. But, Rex knew that wasn’t right because he wouldn’t see Fox for another two days and he lived through that fall back on Kamino. Forcing himself to listen closer, he heard the voice speaking again and it was lighter than Fox’s, less rough.

Rex forced his eyes to focus, then forced his head to realize he wasn’t falling to his death. He saw Kix leaning forward on his stool. His mouth was moving and his words were only just coming back as white noise to fill the eerily silent room. Rex felt water drip on his face, but he had never known it to rain in the medbay. He lifted his hand to wipe across his cheek and realized he was crying.

Everything around him rushed back into focus with overwhelming clarity, and he could finally hear Kix saying his name. Rex turned his head and forced himself to make eye contact with him.

“Rex,” he heard Kix call softly. “Are you here with me?”

“Yeah,” Rex answered hoarsely, “I’m back.”

“You had me worried there for a minute, _vod_.”

“I don’t understand, how did this happen?” Rex whispered, not trusting his voice.

Kix sat back away from Rex again,granting him much needed space to take in a deep breath of thick air.

“We can’t know for sure,” Kix replied, scrubbing a hand across his tired eyes. “From the scan I did, you’re not far along enough for it to have happened during your heat, so you wouldn’t have had the birth control patch.”

“You think I got pregnant outside of my heat? Even then we’re careful!” Rex said voice regaining strength as the claws of panic took hold in his chest.

“I know. I know, Rex,” Kix said placatingly.

Rex felt his face flush again. “What am I going to do, Kix? They’ll decommission me for this. They’ll decommission _Fives_ for this. Kark, I can’t let that happen!”

“Just a take a deep breath and we can talk about it. It’s going to be okay. I promise. There are options.”

”Like what?” Rex asked shakily.

“If you don’t want to go through with the pregnancy, there are ways to end it. Not here, we don’t have those kinds of resources. But they do on Coruscant. You’re early on enough we could find someone discrete,” he explained.

Rex felt his heart clench and his oft suppressed omega side cried out at the suggestion. “I don’t know if I can do that. But, what am I going to do? What else is there to do?” He replied weakly.

“It’s okay, Rex. You don’t have to, but you deserve to know you can. There’s still time to decide what happens now that we know,” Kix answered. “For now, I think you should go lay down for a bit. At least until dinner. This is a lot to take in, and I think you need a break. Talk to Fives this evening, and when you two decide what you want to do, comm me, and I’ll figure out the rest.”

“What if I want to have it?”

Kix thought for a moment before answering, “We’ll need more than us to make it happen, we’ll need the General’s help. No one, especially the Jedi, is going to take your baby from you if you don’t want them to.”

Rex felt his traitorous eyes fill with tears as Kix’s words settled heavy in his heart. “What would you do?” he croaked.

“You know I can’t tell you that, Rex,” Kix replied, standing up and moving closer to him. He rested his hand on his Captain’s shoulder. He handed Rex a tissue and continued, “You’re my brother and I love you. I will do everything I can to help you through this, no matter what you choose. But I can’t tell you what to do.”

Rex took in Kix’s kind, sad smile. The mask he wore as a medic had been perfected through blaster bolts and bloodied hands, but Rex knew him well enough to see the hastily hidden look of yearning in his eyes. Rex could picture it without much effort. Kix, tired but happy with a newborn nuzzled against his chest. Jesse watching with a contented smile as his _riduur _nursed their _ik’aad_. Sweet Kix with the quick wit and iron fist would tell the Chancellor where to shove his war before anyone would take his baby, and Rex realized he understood the sentiment, no matter how much fear there was behind it.

When Rex didn’t answer, Kix spoke again. “Go lay down for a bit and comm me later tonight after you’ve had a chance to talk to Fives, alright?”

“Y-yeah, I will.”

With that, Kix offered Rex and a hand and he hopped down from the biobed. He followed the medic back into the main area of the medbay and made his way toward the door when Kix turned into his office.

Rex’s mind was eerily quiet as he made his way back towards the room he shared with Fives. Thankfully, most troopers seemed to be busy and out of his way save a few that stopped to give him the obligatory salute before hurrying off again. When he finally reached his room, he walked immediately to the bed and sat down on the side. As if on autopilot, he reached for the pack of cigarettes he kept in his pocket. He had the cigarette in his mouth about the flick his lighter when he realized he couldn’t smoke it. Slowly, he took it from between his lips and stared at it for a long moment. Eventually, when sitting up felt like too much of a burden to bear, Rex laid back on the bed and thought.

***

“Rex?” Fives called into the dark bunk room. He blindly felt around in the wall for the light control until he clicked the button down, casting the room in a warm glow. His gaze was immediately drawn to the bed, or really Rex laid across it. He had one knee propped up and he was staring up at the ceiling. His left wrist, Fives noted, was wrapped in a splint and resting across his abdomen, and he was slowly twirling a cigarette between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, leather bracelet twirling around with the movement.

Rex glanced over at Fives when the lights were turned on, as if just realizing he was there. “Sorry about that _cyar’ika_ ,” Rex answered absently. “Eyes adjusted. Forgot to turn on the lights.”

Stepping more fully into the room and allowing the door to close behind him, Fives replied, “Have you been laying here in the dark long, Rex?”

“Just since I got back from the medbay,” Rex answered mildly.

“That’s been a while. It’s quarter past 1900. You missed dinner. I tried to comm you, but you didn’t pick up. Kix said you may have fallen asleep and to let you be to heal, so I brought food,” Fives said, holding up a tray. When Rex didn’t immediately respond, Fives stared at him in concern for a moment longer before stepping towards their bed.

Nat-born officers were granted their own rooms. Clone officers and ARC Troopers weren’t quite as privileged, but still held a small advantage over the rest of the clones in the battalions, who typically slept about 9 troopers to a room. High ranking troopers like Rex, Fives, Jesse, even Kix as CMO, bunked two to a room in a wing a few halls down from general berthing. After enough fiddling with the paperwork, and a General like Anakin Skywalker who was so willing to turn a blind eye during inspections, couples within a battalion were typically lucky enough to be placed together, and were welcome to rearrange their living space however they wanted. Fives was moved into Rex’s bunk shortly after becoming an ARC trooper, the day they said the _Riduurok_. The two single bunks in the rooms were pushed together and the rest was history.

Reaching his side of the bed, Fives set the tray of Rex’s dinner on his side table and settled down next to his _riduur_. Rex was still staring unseeingly at the ceiling. Desperate to fill the heavy silence in the room, Fives gestures towards the cigarette in his hand and asked, “You gonna smoke it or just play with it some more?”

Rex glanced down at the unlit cigarette in his hand and huffed out a humorless laugh. “I forgot I was still holding it honestly.” He contemplated the smoke a moment more before grasping it in a fist and turning towards Fives, keeping his gaze cast downward.

“You know,” Rex started again, “All my batchmates smoked at one point. Everyone always assumed Wolffe was the bad influence that started it, but really it was Cody. Way back on Kamino. We all saw Jango smoking at one point or another, but Cody figured that we would be more like him if we started smoking too. It’s ridiculous I know, but we all went for it. Kenobi and Secura have never like it though, so of course Cody and Bly stopped after meeting their Generals. Fox did his best to quit when he met Riyo, but he’ll still go for a smoke if we’re all on planet together, or when he’s stressed. Never in the house though. It really just leaves me and Wolffe.”

Rex paused for a moment with a look of concentration on his face before glancing up and meeting Fives’s eyes. “I think it’s time I stop smoking. Alpha told me once that when he was still a young cadet under Jango in the early days, Jango was a chain smoker, but he eased up when the _Kaminiise_ gave him Boba.”

Fives sat quietly for a moment to digest everything Rex had said. He didn’t quite understand the point, and he knew it was important, but he also knew Rex would tell him in his own time. There was no point in pushing. Carefully, Fives responded with the only thing he could think to say, “I’ve never cared if you smoke or not. Doesn’t really matter either way, so it’s up to you if you stop or not.”

Rex let out a noncommittal hum in response and the room fell back into its silence.

Finally, Fives took a breath and asked quietly, “What’s wrong, Rex?”

Rex’s neutral expression faltered for a moment before he regained his composure. He let out a deep, bone tired sigh before he finally sat up in bed and answered, “It’s been a long day Fives. It’s probably going to be an even longer night. Why don’t you go take a shower while I eat and then we’ll talk.”

“You’re scaring me, _cyare_.”

Rex met Fives’s imploring gaze again and replied, “I’m okay, we’re okay. I promise, it’s nothing we can’t let rest for a few more minutes. I’ll explain everything, but I just need a little longer.”

“Re-“

“Fives, please,” Rex said emphatically. He opened his mouth to speak again and faltered. Fives was terrified to see his husband’s eyes fill with tears for a moment before they were blinked away. Rex’s voice wavered when he was able to talk again. “I’m going to explain everything, I swear. But when I do, everything changes, Fives and I’m not ready for that yet. So, please, please, go take a shower and let me pretend for five more minutes.”

Fives stared Rex down for a moment longer before he finally let out the breath he was holding. With a nod, he made his way across the room to their ‘fresher. The door slid firmly shut behind him. _Five minutes_ , he thought. He could handle fives more minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:
> 
> cyare- beloved  
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> shebs- ass, backside, rear, buttocks  
> vod- brother, comrade, "mate"  
> ik'aad- baby  
> Riduurok- marriage vows  
> Kaminiise- Kaminoans  
> cyar’ika- darling, sweetheart


	2. Chapter 2

The happiest day of Fives’s life was the day he returned to the 501st from ARC training with Echo.

The training was brutal. He and Echo were thrown in with some hotshot young cadets that thought they understood war and had something to prove. Everything was regimented and strict and arduous. Alpha-17 burst into their bunk room everyday before the first beams of light hit the water surrounding Tipoca, and they dragged their _shebs_ back into their bunks sore and bruised hours after the halls of the cloning facility fell silent and the main lights kicked offfor the night cycle, leaving only an eerie, dim glow in the sterile corridors. Fives and Echo’s tenth decant day came and went, and with it, they both stopped aging in double time without feeling any different at all. It was bloody and hard and worth every minute of the pain.

After surviving Rishi with only each other left in the galaxy, Fives and Echo felt confident that they could face anything the war threw at them. ARC training taught them that war would always be worse than they expected.

So, the happiest day of Fives’s life was the day he strutted off his transport with his arm thrown around Echo and his newly earned Kama swinging stiffly around his hips. His eyes had adjusted to the blinding lights in the hanger after spending so long in the darkness of hyperspace, and the first thing he saw was Rex standing with General Skywalker at the end of the loading ramp. Even without the teasing elbow Echo had jabbed into his side, Fives knew he was smiling like an idiot at his lover because _he had made it._

Reaching the pair waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp, Echo and Fives pulled themselves to attention and snapped out smart salutes. Rex and Anakin had returned the gesture before Rex’s face broke with a soft smile and Anakin tossed his arms around Echo and Five’s shoulders and the four of them made their way to the General’s office. Standing around the cramped little room, he had pulled out a bottle of Correlian whiskey and passed around glasses that _tinked_ when tapped together in celebration.

Fives turned his head to smile at Rex beside him and felt his heart swell with pride and excitement.

Fives slipped his arm around Rex’s waist and leaned in close. For months after it happened, he couldn’t explain what possessed him to say what he did at that exact moment. The high of making it through training, maybe. Or the semi-privacy of being with friends who weren’t paying them any mind anyway, stuck in their own conversation on the other side of the room. If he was feeling sentimental he would say it was just something in Rex’s eyes. Whatever it may have been didn’t matter too much. What was important was that Fives put his mouth to Rex’s ear and whispered, so quiet only the two of them could hear, “Marry me.”

For a moment Rex had pulled back and stared at Fives in shock before letting out a startled laugh and asking, “What?”

Fives smiled brightly at him and quietly said again, “Marry me. I’m serious. Be mine, and let me be yours, even from across the galaxy.”

Rex stared at him for a moment before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss to Fives’s lips, right in the middle of their General’s office. “Okay.”

A cheer had rung out across from them and Rex’s face was aflame when he turned and made eye contact with Echo and Anakin, knowing better than to hope they would let it go.

Anakin filled their glasses again, and again, and one too many times and laughed about eloping before quickly falling silent. The three troopers in the room laughed at him and his alcohol tolerance and graciously ignored Anakin’s bright red, embarrassed face when no one acted terribly shocked.

Later that night, after Fives had seen the friends he had missed while away and the good whiskey had filtered out of his and Rex’s systems, they stood in the middle of Rex’s private quarters with Fives’s belongings pushed neatly against the wall to be dealt with later. They pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes and they reverently recited the _Riduurok_.

 _Mhi solus tome._ We are one together.

 _Mhi solus dar’tome._ We are one apart.

 _Mhi me’dinui an._ We will share everything.

 _Mhi ba’juri verde._ We will raise warriors.

***

When Fives exited the ‘fresher, Rex hadn’t moved from his seated spot in the middle of their bed. The tray of his dinner sat in front of him, although it hadn’t been touched, the fork still sitting off to the side. Rex was tapping his fingers quietly against the tray, staring at his armor on its rack next to the bed.

Fives padded across the room to the shelves inset in the wall and sorted through his small collection of non-regulation clothes before pulling out sweatpants and a plain black shirt. He dropped his towel to the floor in a heap, and waited to hear Rex grumble behind him about slipping and killing himself in the middle of the night if he didn’t put it in the laundry basket, but was met with only the sound of Rex tapping on the metal meal tray instead. He glanced over his shoulder and let out an inaudible sigh when he saw Rex still dressed in his red fatigues. Fives turned back to their belongings and dug out another set of civvies for him.

He walked over to Rex’s side of the bed and cleared his throat before speaking. “Rex?”

Rex jerked backwards a little, tapping coming to a halt. He looked up at Fives, wide eyed and seemingly a little shocked. “Kriff, I’m sorry,” he said, scrubbing his good hand across his eyes to clear them of their grittiness. “I think I was in a different star system for a minute.”

“It’s been a long day, love,” Fives said, smiling at him softly. He held out the clothes he gathered for Rex. “Do you need help changing?”

“Yes, please,” Rex replied, glancing down sheepishly at such an admission.

Not wanting to draw attention to Rex’s embarrassment, Fives reached over and set the clothes down before reaching for the tray and setting it to the side again. “Not hungry?” He asked as Rex climbed off the bed.

“Not today,” he replied, grimacing at the thought of trying to stomach anything, let alone GAR food.

Fives hummed his response and helped Rex strip his regulation top off and replace it with something soft and worn. Rex kicked his pants off to the side and allowed Fives to pull the sweats up his legs. Rex huffed out a laugh at the situation, mostly at Fives’s expense, or really because there was no way he could get the joke. _In any other context,_ he thought, _this would go so much differently_. He sobered quickly, stomach going vaguely sour at the thought of the conversation he had to have with his husband, what led them to that moment. Rex swallowed down the bile that crept up his throat, and clenched his hands to keep from fidgeting.

Straightening from his task, Fives looked Rex in the eye curiously for a moment, before taking his hands and leading him to settle back down on the bed, following close behind. They sat facing each other, legs crossed and hunched over like young cadets trading secrets, although, they were both awfully quiet for that.

“I know you’re trying to tell me something without telling me,” Fives started. “And don’t get me wrong, I’m good, but not that good. So, I think I need you to give me a little more so I can understand.”

Rex glanced off to the side, working his jaw, but Fives had been married long enough to still notice the tremor in his bottom lip he was trying to hide. Finally, Rex broke his silence. “I don’t even know where to start. I never thought we’d be here, really.”

“How about the beginning then?” Fives asked, resting a comforting palm against Rex’s bent knee. “I know I’m normally the loud one, but you’re worrying me, _cyare_.” His laugh was forced and short lived.

Rex couldn’t maintain eye contact and looked down at his lap with a pained expression. He didn’t want to accept his _riduur’s_ silent support, but he didn’t know how to keep going without it. Rex couldn’t let Fives take the fall for this, but he didn’t think he could go it alone either. He didn’t want to. “I’m sorry, Fives. This isn’t fair to you. I just don’t know how to-” Rex’s voice failed him and he cut himself off, taking a moment to steel himselfagainst the pain in his chest. When he knew he had control, he started again. “I had to have my physical today, when I went to medbay. Coric said it was either then or when we came back from leave, and I figured why not. Kix took over about halfway through, did some tests,” Rex fell silent, thinking through what to say next.

But, while Rex sorted his thoughts, Fives felt like ice water was rushing down his spine and seeping into his limbs. “What did they find?” His voice shook when he spoke. He had just lost Echo, he couldn’t lose Rex too.

Looking at Fives again, Rex knew he had kriffed up before he had even started. “I’m fine, Fives. I swear. There’s nothing wrong with me. Kark it all! I don’t know how to do this,” Rex exclaimed, frustrated.

“I can take it Rex. Ju-just,” Fives sighed, steadying himself. “What did Kix say? Anything after that, we will handle together.”

Rex tried to smile reassuringly at Fives when he looked at him again, but he knew it fell short, undercut by the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. Looking at Fives supportive expression, he knew nothing he could say would ever scare him away. “ _Manda_ , we’re karked,” he whispered, knowing Fives would never allow him to bear this burden alone, even if Rex asked him to. He reached out for Fives’s hand resting on his knee and took it in his own, letting a few wayward tears fall down his cheeks. He forced his voice not to shake when he finally gave voice to the mantra that had echoed through his head for hours. With a shuttering inhale he said, “I’m pregnant, Fives.”

The weight lifted off of Rex’s chest and resettled itself in his stomach, and he found it hard to breathe around the lump that formed in his throat. He leaned forward and hunched over their clasped hands and let himself cry. Rex felt Fives loosen his grip for a moment, and he looked up franticly, a hurt noise escaping his throat.

Fives’s hushed him gently and shifted around to wrap his arms around Rex. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Rex stayed tense for a moment longer before giving in and settling his head into the crook of Fives’s shoulder, lips brushing softly against his mating mark. Tears fell silently from his eyes to wet the collar of Fives’s shirt, but he decided to feel bad about it later. He felt like a shiny again, although back then it was his pillowcase he gripped for dear life in the dead of night when he just couldn’t _save them all._

Wrapped in his husband’s embrace, Rex was thrown back to two months prior, just after they made it back to the _Resolute_ after the disaster that was Lola Sayu. After the reports were filed and command was assuaged, Rex found Fives, still in full kit, sitting in the shower in their ‘fresher. The water had turned bitingly cold long before Rex found him there, and it ran in rivulets down his blood stained armor, leaving pink water to swirl around the drain. After getting Fives dry and changed, they laid in bed wrapped in each other the entire night. Fives cried periodically, giant, heaving sobs wracking his frame, until morning came and he passed out in exhaustion. Rex was quiet in his own anguish, just letting the tears fall from his eyes to run down Fives’s shoulder. Still, he couldn’t help feeling like a fool. Fives lost his twin that day, the _vod_ with which he shared a growth chamber, and Rex was sitting there now, suffering through quite the opposite. Guilt sparked up the back of his neck, but he didn’t know how else to cope with the crushing anxiety he could feel at the tips of his fingers and toes. They sat like that for hours or maybe seconds, at least until Fives’s legs began to ache with pins and needles and Rex could feel a crick forming in his neck.

“I’m scared, Fives,” Rex said eventually.

“I know.”

“We could get decommissioned for this,” Rex whispered. “Force, I’m sorry. I feel so weak.”

Fives leaned back from the embrace, forcing Rex to sit up straighter to look at him. “Don’t do that,” Fives said gently.

“Do what?”

“You’re not weak, Rex. And you have nothing to apologize for. You’re the strongest man I know, and we’re going to figure this out,” Fives declared, voice getting stronger the longer he talked. “No one is getting decommissioned. Not you, not me, not our baby. I won’t allow it because I am so kriffing tired of being scared!” By the time he finished, there was the beginning of a growl in his voice, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

“So am I,” Rex responded. “But we don’t have a choice. If we want to live another day, we have to be afraid. We knew what we were doing and what would happen if it ever got out. Well, now here we are and we have to deal with it.”

“What we were doing? Deal with it?” Fives asked shocked. “I didn’t realize having sex with my husband was a crime. I’m not going to apologize for offending anyone’s delicate sensibilities because we both happened to be decanted as clones.”

“Don’t be difficult, Fives. You know exactly what I mean.”

“No, I want to be difficult. We’re both afraid, Rex. This isn’t something we were prepared for and it’s kriffing terrifying, but you’re going to have to spell it out some more, because I don’t understand what you’re trying to say,” Fives said crossing his arms across his chest.

Rex ran his good hand over his head and stood up from the bed to pace in front of it. Fives turned in his spot to watch him as he fiddled nervously with the the splint wrapped around his wrist. Rex abruptly spun on his heel to face the bed again. “You’re the love of my life,” he declared.

“Glad to hear it considering we’ve been married for half a standard year.”

Despite his agitation, Rex let out a snort of laughter. He walked forward and wedged his hand between Fives’s stubbornly crossed arms. He grasped Fives hand, gently rubbing his thumb across the scarred knuckles. Rex looked up and started again. “You’re the love of my life. And I wouldn’t give you up if it kept me from a reconditioning chamber. But, you and I both know the _Kaminiise_ didn’t plan for this to happen. Sure, somewhere in their sexually repressed minds they probably figured clones would sleep with other clones, maybe they even guessed there would be relationships like ours. But, they didn’t intend for me to be an omega. It’s a fluke, like being blond on the command track and we know where that got me. Demoted and forced to fight tooth and nail for every inch I gained.”

Fives stared at him for a moment, his brow furrowing the longer he thought on Rex’s words. “What are you trying to say?”

Rex took in a deep breath, delaying the inevitable as long as he could. “This shouldn’t have been possible. I’m afraid we may have karked up, Fives.”

As soon as the words passed his lips, he knew they would hurt Fives, and Rex forced himself to maintain their eye contact in penance as the statement settled heavy over the room, visibly pulling Fives’s shoulders down with their weight.

“What if I don’t think we have?” Fives whispered.

Rex released his hand and took a few steps back, trying to distance himself from Fives’s pain. “I don’t know how else to see it,” Rex answered. “Two clones falling in love, holding onto each other to get through this hell they dropped us into? Yeah, I can see that, and even the Kaminoans looked the other way. We were never hurting anyone. But this b-baby was never supposed to happen.” Rex rested his hand across his lower stomach for a moment before quickly pulling it back, as if burned. “We don’t understand this,” he said softly. “I’m a quirk of biology the scientists never tried to explain or learn the consequences of. We don’t sleep with our batchmates, the same way natborn siblings don’t, because we’re raised together as brothers and it’d be weird. But biologically, this,” he waved at his stomach, “is the same thing isn’t it? Nothing makes your DNA any different than Cody or Wolffe’s! What if it’s like when karked-in-the-head natborn siblings mess around and get knocked up?” Rex sighed deeply, centering himself before continuing. “There was nothing wrong when it was just us living our lives, because we know family is different, regardless of natborns calling us all brothers because they don’t care to ask how we see it. But how can we be sure this isn’t the same principle and our baby won’t be fine like any other normal natborn?”

Fives frowned at him, thinking hard on what to say next. Finally he replied, “We don’t know, maybe Kix does, maybe no one does. Without asking someone smarter than us or trying to see the future, I don’t think there are any guarantees. I mean, as far as we’re aware, you’re the first right? But Rex, we aren’t talking about biological theory right now. Sure, this could very well be the same thing and we could be facing a baby with health problems, and we’d have to cross that bridge when we came to it, but, and hear me out on this one ‘cause it’s a little radical, the _Kaminiise_ also could be smarter than that. Neither of us understand it well enough to know for sure anyway. We’ll figure it out though. Someone is bound to have answers, and we don’t need them tonight. I know it’s worrying you, but it’s also not like we are weighing the pros and cons of deciding to try and get pregnant. We are well past the decision making part of this.”

“No, we aren’t,” Rex said, and Fives was shocked into silence.

“I don’t understand,” he responded.

“Kix said that if we decide not to- that if we don’t-“ Rex thought for a moment before speaking again. He was ashamed of the lump reforming in his throat as he forced the words out. “Kix said I don’t have to go through with the pregnancy if we decide we don’t want to. On Coruscant. There are doctors there that could… stop it.”

Fives desperately had to fight back his inner voice screaming _no no no_ and choose his next words carefully. He schooled his expression and swallowed hard before he said, “If you’re sure that’s what you want to do, I’m not going to stop you.”

Rex growled in frustration and turned his back on Fives to pace the length of the room again, hands scrubbing nervously across his face. He gave himself a few minutes in the dead silence that followed to gather his thoughts. When that failed him, he turned on Fives again, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I don’t want you to tell me to do it!”

“What do you want me to do then, Rex? You wouldn’t bring it up if you weren’t thinking about it, and I’m not going to be the _chakaar_ that tells you what you can and can’t do,” Fives said. “You’re the one that’s going to have to deal with this for damn near a year, during a war no less, and I’m not going to take away your only out,” Fives replied. He was tired and frustrated and hurting, and he knew nothing he felt could hold a candle to what Rex was going through.

Rex clinched his one good fist in front of him and tried his best with his injured hand then exclaimed, “I want you to tell me why I shouldn’t do it! I’m kriffing terrified and I don’t see any other way, but that doesn’t mean I want to do it. I want you to stop being gentle with me like I’m about to shatter at any moment ad be the passionate man I married. I want you to tell me what you want. I want you to tell me all the reasons we should drop this whole conversation and be excited like normal kriffing people!”

Fives was shocked into silence by his outburst, but he felt a glimmer of hope spark in his chest despite himself. He slowly rose from the bed, enjoying the stretch in his overworked limbs after sitting still as the dead for so long. He walked over to Rex confidently for the first time since he had walked into their quarters earlier that evening. “Oh, _cyare_ ,” he whispered, taking Rex’s face in both hands and wiping away tears with his thumbs that Rex hadn’t realized were rolling down his cheeks. He was already _so tired_ of crying. Fives leaned his forehead against Rex’s and closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of having his husband in his hands that he had never grown used to. “I don’t think there is a right way to go, just different options,” he said, eyes still closed.

“Then how do we know what to do?” Rex asked, grasping Fives’s wrists as best as he could.

Fives opened his eyes and contemplated Rex, pulling back to see him clearly. He ran his hands down his neck and arms to take Rex’s hands in his own. Without breaking eye contact, he raised Rex’s right hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles, stopping to contemplate the leather cord around his wrist before lowering their hands again. “The right choice shouldn’t hurt so much, Rex.”

“I know,” he responded, sniffling in an attempt to control his unruly tears.

Rex tried to look away again, but Fives caught the side of his jaw gently and turned his head to look at him. “What is it, Rex?”

“Kriff, Fives, I don’t want to keep crying. This is ridiculous.”

“It’s okay,” Fives replied gently, like coaxing a wounded animal out of hiding. “Now is not the time for the Captain. Just you.”

Rex nodded and unclenched his teeth, jaw aching in relief. “This is going to be hard, Fives. We don’t know how command is going to react. I can’t let you be held responsible if we go through with this and I have to run.” By the time Rex finished, his voice was nearly inaudible, barely giving voice to the treasonous thought.

It was startling for Fives to hear that Rex had even considered something so drastic, and he was struck suddenly by the realization that, maybe, Rex wanted this as badly as he himself did. “I would follow you to the end of the galaxy and then further if it came to that, love,” Fives whispered, so quiet it was nearly lost in the buzz of the air filtration system. “We could get a farm like your friend in the outer rim. Settle somewhere we could wake up and see the sun everyday.”

Rex turned his head and pressed a kiss to the palm Fives still had pressed to his cheek. “You would miss the adrenaline rush,” he replied.

“I could adapt. Maybe find other ways to spend my time,” he said.

Rex snorted despite the the peace of the moment. “I’m sure you would,” he answered. “Then I think our problem would be more like five kids, knowing you. Not a lot of birth control in the outer rim.”

“Yeah, probably.”

They fell into silence again, although for the first time that night, it was comfortable. It was Rex that finally broke the peace. “Fives?”

“Hmm?”

“We-we’re doing this, aren’t we?” He asked timidly, nervous to give voice to his hopes.

“I will follow you anywhere, _cyare_ ,” he answered, and that was enough.

“Fives?” Rex asked again.

“Hmm?” Fives replied, playing along.

“We’re having a baby.”

Fives pulled back and his hands fell to wrap around Rex’s waist. He leaned in and kissed Rex slow and gentle. When he pulled back again, Rex was convinced Five’s smile was brighter than any star he had ever seen. “We’re having a baby,” Fives repeated back, and suddenly his expression changed. He was wide eyed and a little breathless, like a shiny that had just discovered snow before it chilled him to the bone. “Little gods, Rex! We’re having a baby!” He exclaimed.

Rex laughed at his _riduur’s_ awe struck expression, but the sound quickly morphed into a startled yelp when Fives lifted him off his feet. “Put me down Fives!” He yelled through his laughter. “Kriffing ARC training. This is undignified!”

Fives was in near hysterics when he dropped Rex on their bed and leaned to kiss his complaints away. He plopped down on the bed next to Rex and they turned to face each other as their laughter tapered off. Fives settled a hand on his hip and ran his thumb up and down over his side.“ _Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum_ , Rex.”

Turning to lay flat on his back, Rex reached for Fives and placed their joined hands on his lower stomach where his shirt had ridden up. “I love you too, Fives.”

***

It was late when they dragged themselves out of bed again. They slipped on their shoes and made their way down the hall to Jesse and Kix’s room a few doors down. It took a few minutes of knocking, but the door finally slid open halfway to reveal Jesse’s sleep rumpled form.

“What?” He grumbled at the pair.

“I need to talk to Kix,” Rex said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Jesse contemplated them through squinted eyes. “Fine,” he replied reluctantly, opening the door the rest of the way. Kix was sitting up in bed with a datapad and stylus in hand, still going over reports and finalizing his work before they broke atmo above Coruscant.

“What can I do for you, Captain,” Kix asked, not bothering to look up from his work.

Rex’s glare could only be described as withering. “Oh, nothing. Just thought it’d be fun to stay up all night and chat like a couple of cadets squeezed into a pod together,” he replied sarcastically, walking past Jesse into the dim room. “It’s not like we’ve been making life changing decisions tonight that you need to know about or anything.” Rex walked up to the bed and plopped down next to Kix, relaxing next to him like he did back when they would stay up late into the night together, adjusting to their lives as omegas surrounded by people who could never understand.

Kix glanced up at him when he spoke, “Life changing, huh?”

“What are we talking about,” Jesse asked helplessly.

Fives clapped Jesse on the back as he shouldered his way into the room. “A little behind on the times there, _vod_.” Jesse pushed him playfully.

Rolling his eyes at their antics, Kix refocused on Rex. “Do you want to go talk privately?”

He thought on it for a moment, glancing at Jesse leaned against the closed door. “No,” he answered. “We can do this here. I-I don’t- I’m not ready for everyone to know yet. Just _aliit_ for now.”

“Alright,” Kix responded, setting his datapad to the side and turning more fully to address the room. “Come over here, Fives. I don’t bite often and I’m feeling friendly tonight.”

Fives ambled over and stood behind Rex, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. Rex could almost feel the excited energy radiating off of him.

“So, you’ve come to a decision then?” Kix asked. He tried to focus on the couple before him, even as Jesse’s brow furrowed in confusion over their shoulders.

Rex let out a long sigh before he answered. “Yeah. We want to go through with it. I-I want to want to have the baby.”

From behind them, Jesse inhaled sharply in shock. The trio on the bed turned to look at him and he rubbed at the back of his neck, looking away bashfully. “I think I’m just gonna go count the threads in my blacks or something,” he mumbled, vaguely gesturing somewhere in the distance before crossing the room to settle down at Kix’s desk with a datapad to browse the HoloNet.

Kix rolled his eyes at his _riduur’s_ antics, huffing at his embarrassment. When he turned back to Fives and Rex though, he couldn’t stop the smile from breaking across his face. “I know the situation is less than ideal, but you’ve got us on your side. You both do.” They smiled gratefully back at the medic. “Now,” Kix said, reaching over to his side table and grabbing a pad of flimsi and a pen, “there are some things we need to cover before I can let you go.”

He looked up at them and waited for their nods of affirmation before continuing. “First, and probably the most important to start with, you have to stop smoking immediately, Rex.”

“Of course. Anything else I need to change?” Rex asked.

“You need to be ridiculously cautious for a while. If you think it can harm you, it probably can. You have to avoid alcohol, and stim patches are absolutely not allowed. After we get to Coruscant and I get some, I’m going to start you on supplements and I’ll probably go in your file and change your ration allotment to keep your weight up. You also need to avoid any major strain. I don’t want you lifting any cargo crates unless I tell you otherwise, even if they’re on a gravity assist. That also means no weights or sparring. You need to aim for less strenuous activities, and we can work out what those are together,” Kix answered. When he looked up from writing his list, Rex looked mildly overwhelmed, and Kix sighed. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but it’s just for a little while. I’ll do my best to monitor the little one at least once a month, and after any assignments you go on.”

“I can still go on assignment?” Rex asked hopefully.

Kix nodded vaguely, thinking. “Command is going to have to know eventually, and I don’t know what they’ll say when we tell them. As far as I’m aware, the whole situation is unprecedented. Or, if it has happened before, none of the other medics I know have cared to share. You could get sidelined and chained to the bridge, or you could get thrown into the thick of it. For now, I wiped the results of your scan and blood work, so this is really just between us. The General will have to know eventually, but I don’t see any reason you can’t enjoy your leave time without worrying about GAR politics.”

“Thank you,” Rex said gratefully.

“Of course,” Kix replied, smiling kindly. “Now, I’ve thrown a lot out at you, but can I answer any questions?”

Rex and Fives glanced at each other before Fives asked, “So, the baby. Is it, well, is it okay? I mean there’s n-nothing-“

“I think he’s trying to ask if the baby is going to be normal because we’re both clones,” Rex tried to clarify.

“Because you’re clones?” Kix asked. “Do you mean genetically? Because I mean cloned DNA is cloned DNA. Cross it and you get a different variation of cloned DNA. You might get a different eye color out of it or something.”

Rex sighed and said, “No. We mean could anything be _wrong_ because we’re clones?”

“Like incest?” He asked shocked. When they both winced, Kix knew he had understood. He looked at them for a long moment, frowning in thought. “Everything on the scan came back fine, and there’s nothing I could see that would cause alarm. Genetics can do all kinds of karked up things, but we clones are about as genetically pure as beings can be. We’re immune to most major diseases and illnesses, and really any odd cases of physical mutation we see on Kamino come from the scientists messing around or an ill-formed embryo that reacted badly to the accelerated growth chamber, but that can just happen naturally. That would be the case with clones like 99. I mean, I’m not an expert on it, I’m more like a medical doctor. I’ll need to talk to Helix in the 212th a bit more to make sure. He did most of that kind of research back when Boil presented.”

“You’re saying the medics planned for this to happen?” Fives asked, shocked.

“Of course we did,” Kix answered. “Maybe the _Kaminiise_ didn’t give a kark to look into it, but we’re smarter than to think this would never happen. Waxer and Boil have been married almost as long as me and Jesse, so it would be naive to think there wasn’t at least a chance. You two just beat them to the punch. Is that what you’ve been worried about?”

“All damn day,” Rex replied, exasperated. Outwardly, he was calm and attentive. Inside he was melting with relief.

Kix blew out a long breath before he said, “We’ve got you. You know my comm, so don’t let these things eat at you, Rex. Odds are if I don’t know the answer, I can find someone who will. If you’re going to go through with this, you’re going to have a lot of moments of questioning. You’ll feel much better if you just ask.”

Rex felt a swell of warmth in his chest, feeling calmer than he had since he walked into the medbay that morning. “I’ll do that then,” he said, frustrated to feel moisture trying to gather in his eyes again. “Kriff, I’m so tired of crying.”

“Rex,” Kix started, leaning in to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I hate to break it to you, but it’s all part of the deal. I’ve dealt with more than a few pregnant natborns throughout the war, and this,” he gestured at Rex scrubbing at his eyes, “is just part of normal. It’ll all take some adjusting to get used to, but you don’t need to tough it out or whatever you’ve convinced yourself of, alright?.” Rex nodded his head and looked back up at Kix. “Now, I have your scan from earlier pulled up if you two want to see your baby?”

“Yes, please,” Rex replied instantly.

Kix huffed out a laugh at the enthusiasm and picked up his datapad to pull up the images he had taken earlier in the day. He handed it to Rex, and he held it so Fives could look over his shoulder with him. The effect was instantaneous. Their expressions both visibly brightened and the very air of the room became lighter. “Just a little bean for right now,” Kix explained, hesitant to disturb their excitement. “They’ll grow quickly. You’re about 18 weeks along right now, so not quite a heat baby, but close. Honestly, you’re lucky you’re not showing a bump yet. But you’re young and fit and it is your first pregnancy, so odds are you’ll start to notice some changes in the next few weeks. You can wear your armor until it becomes too uncomfortable, but don’t try to force it either, you’ll… just… be miserable,” Kix tapered off his thought watching as Rex winced and Fives’s smile fell.

“18 weeks?” Fives asked, voice oddly tight.

“Just about,” Kix replied, confused.

“Right before Lola Sayu,” he murmured.

Rex turned and made eye contact with Fives, grasping his hand tightly. Fives wiped roughly at his eyes and cleared his throat before taking the datapad in his other hand to pull it closer.

Kix felt as if he was intruding in his own room.

Fives was the first to break the silence, and when he did his voice was much clearer. “Thank you for letting us see them.”

“There’ll be plenty more where that came from, I assure you,” Kix replied. Floundering for something else to say he spoke quickly. “I’ll need to monitor the growth closely over the next couple weeks, so you need to see me at least once a week over leave. I don’t think the baby inherited our aging because it was mostly done artificially, but I have to be sure 18 weeks isn’t suddenly 22 when it should be 20.”

“Of course,” Rex answered. After sitting in silence for a moment, he smiled gently and said, “We’ll go ahead and get out of your hair. We’ve interrupted your evening enough, and Jesse over there looks about read to fall out of his chair.”

“Alright,” Kix replied on a soft laugh. “Get some rest.”

When the door finally slid closed behind Rex and Fives, Jesse pulled himself from his seat with a groan and plopped face first onto the bed, jostling Kix and his datapad.

“This gonna be be interesting,” Jesse said, voice muffled by the bedding.

“Yes, it certainly will be,” Kix replied with a smile, and he had never been so sure of anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:
> 
> shebs- backside, rear, buttocks  
> Riduurok- marriage vows  
> cyare- beloved  
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> Manda- the collective soul or heaven- supreme, overarching, guardian-like  
> vod- brother, comrade, “mate"  
> Kaminiise- Kaminoans  
> chakaar- corpse robber, thief, petty criminal - general term of abuse  
> Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum- I love you  
> aliit- clan, family


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome back to my little story. Thank you so much for reading! I have just a few things to address before you read.
> 
> First, I have a new pseud! I may not keep this one forever, but it was necessary to change from the old one for distance in my personal life. But it's still me! 
> 
> Second, please note that I did change the rating for this story. I have no intentions of anything being overly violent or graphic. I just found myself toeing the line between appropriate teen sexual innuendo and appropriate mature sexual descriptions. Please be mindful of this, although I promise this story will not focus on those things very often.
> 
> Third, although I despise math and numbers make my brain hurt, I am attempting to use the Galactic Standard Calendar, and all time frames have been adjusted to reflect that. Really this just means 18 weeks pregnant here is more like 12 in a Gregorian calendar, and a standard pregnancy lasts around 8 months instead of 9.
> 
> Besides those things, I hope you enjoy this chapter because it did not want to be written!

Rex was standing on the bridge of the _Resolute_ next to Anakin when they dropped out of hyperspace above Coruscant, and although he would not count it on his list of favorite places in the galaxy, Rex breathed easier by just being in the system. The air traffic was as busy as always, innumerable ships making their way to and from the ecumenopolis, but the sight was comforting in a way nothing else had been for days.

“They’re requesting our landing permissions, General,” someone called from behind them.

“Go on and put them through,” he replied. When the comm before them glowed, Anakin spoke again. “This is General Anakin Skywalker of the 501st requesting landing access for the _Resolute_ at the GAR spaceport.”

“Go for landing in Dock B, _Resolute_ ,” a trooper replied back. “Welcome home, General Skywalker.”

Anakin nodded his head in acknowledgement although the trooper on the other end couldn’t see him, and gestured for Rex to follow him off the bridge. They made their way through the ship to its opposite end where the entire battalion was gathered, waiting anxiously to depart on the surface. They were organized by company and split evenly into rows as if ready for inspection, but Rex and Anakin could hear their excited chattering from 3 corridors away. When they walked in though, every trooper in the room snapped stiffly to attention. Ahsoka made her way from where she was joking with members of Torrent Company to take her place at Anakin’s left side.

“Alright men,” Anakin said into the mic he was handed. “We are in descent to the surface and we should be grounded in the next few minutes. Before we let you loose on Galactic City, we have some ground rules for you all to follow. I’m sure most of you know the drill at this point, but we’re going to go over it again anyway for those of you with unfortunately short memories,” he said, glancing out over the casually dressed troopers all but buzzing with anticipation to leave the ship. “First off, if you are over 20 standard years old, you do not have to check in with anyone for the duration of your leave time. The ship will be accessible at all hours of the day with your access code, you may come and go as you please. If you are under 20 standard years old, you must be back on the ship by 0200 every night and you can leave again at 0600. Your commanding officer will be keeping track of your whereabouts, so make it easier on us all and don’t miss curfew please. Regardless of age, you will receive a return to ship notice 48 hours before we depart again. You must be back on ship 12 hours before lift off unless directed otherwise. No non-clone personnel of any kind is allowed on the ship, so take your one night only friends elsewhere. Troopers from other battalions are welcome as long as they are also following their own battalion’s guidelines. I don’t want any comm calls from General Koon searching for missing shinies this time. Anything to add, Captain?” Anakin asked with a smirk, handing the mic to Rex without receiving an answer.

“Of course sir,” Rex said loud enough to catch on the speaker. “Try your damndest not to get arrested. If you are, Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard will give me a list with your name and number on it and you will be scrubbing floors with a toothbrush until we see Galactic City again,” he started. “Also, your commanding officer will search your berthing when we hit hyperspace following take off. Any possession of spice, death sticks, or whatever else people are killing themselves with these days will result in punishment to be determined by the severity of the contraband. This also applies to under-age troopers found in possession of alcohol or nicotine.” He paused and slipped a hand into the pocket of his civvies to pull out a foil packet that he held up for them to see before continuing, “The GAR will not pay child-support, but they do supply condoms so grab some and wrap it. If you think you don’t need one because pregnancy isn’t a possibility, I’m sure either Kix or your company medic would be happy to tell you about all sorts of fun diseases and show you holos of what they can do to your _kad._ ” Rex couldn’t help a satisfied smirk at the grimaces he saw in the crowd. He definitely didn’t feel bad when Ahsoka glanced away from him and the packet still held in his hand, lekku flushing dark with embarrassment. _Good_ , he thought. _Maybe one of us will learn then._ Rex almost gave in entirely to the laugh bubbling in his throat when he made eye contact with Fives in the front row. His _riduur_ winked at him and he rolled his eyes in response.

Anakin snorted at Rex’s spiel before taking the mic back. "Your cards have been loaded with an allotment of credits to last you for the duration of leave. Use them wisely. If you have any issues, report them to your Sergeant. Lastly, be sure not to kill anyone. I’m not General Kenobi and I can’t explain away a murder charge. Wait here until the loading ramp descends, and you will be dismissed by company.”

When they were done with their speech, Anakin handed the mic off to a nearby trooper and turned to survey the crowd. “Got any big plans, Rex?” He asked, leading them away from to stand in relative privacy at the outskirts near the loading doors.

“Wouldn’t call them big. All my batchmates are planet side for this first time in a standard year though, so we’re getting together. Do you have anything planned?” Rex asked with a sly smile.

Anakin couldn’t stop the tint his cheeks took on at Rex’s teasing. He glanced at Ahsoka before answering, “Ah, you know. The usual. Excited to spend some time with my dear friend, Senator Amidala. Ahsoka, weren’t you in the middle of a conversation with the new shinies in Torrent?” He asked.

“Alright, fine. I can take a hint. Maybe I’ll see you at the temple later tonight, Master,” she answered, putting her hands up and backing away. “Don’t forget to get me some of those pastries Padmé makes though,” she tossed over her shoulder as she walked away.

Rex snorted at her retreating form then turned back to his General. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll spend some time together alright. Just make sure you take advantage of those good old GAR resources,” he teased, playfully flicking up the condom packet he still held in his good hand. He struggled to contain the hysterical laugh begging to escape at the irony of the situation.

“Very funny,” Anakin replied, rolling his eyes and snatching the packet out of the air before Rex could catch it again. Rex smirked when he didn’t hand it back. “Speaking of our very close friends, Padmé wanted me to invite you and Fives to dinner sometime this week.”

Rex thought for a moment before answering. “We should be free whenever’s best for her after tonight. We’re planning on going to dinner sometime this weekend, but nothing’s set in stone.”

“I’ll let her know later today then and I’ll comm you.” When Anakin finished, a light flashed above their heads and the door alarm let out a single, long buzz before the loading ramp made its slow descent toward the ground. “Looks like that’s your cue, Rex.”

“Listen up!” Rex yelled out over the crowd when the ramp had finished its descent. The whole room turned to face the natural light shining brightly from the outside. “Company Captains will release you in regiment order. Torrent Company!” Rex’s men snapped to attention. “You’re free to go!”

***

When Rex reached Cody’s office in the administrative wing of the _Negotiator_ , his batchmate was hunched over a datapad resting on the mess that was his desk. The little room was in a state of complete disarray, datapads and files full of flimsi in stacks and piles strewn about the room. The door to the office was left open with the majority of the ship’s occupants gone for the day, offering him a semblance of peace he wasn’t typically granted. Rex knew better than to try and interrupt him while he was engrossed in his work, and leaned against the door jamb and waited for Cody to acknowledge him.

He knew he was fidgeting where he stood, going back and forth between having his arms crossed in front of his chest to shoving his hands in his pockets, or as best as he could with his unruly splint. Cody was the oldest of their batch and none of them had ever been able to keep anything from him. Rex felt his stomach roll with the nerves at the idea that he would be found out before he could even begin to explain. As ridiculous as it was, he was afraid Cody would look at him and just _know._ The thought made his incessant nausea rear its ugly head, and he found himself swallowing hard against the extra saliva filling his mouth.

After a few more moments of signing documents in silence, unaware of Rex’s mental deluge, Cody sat his stylus down on the desk and leaned back in his chair, spine cracking loudly with the movement. Rex opened his mouth to greet him, but fell silent when he saw a pair of glasses resting on Cody’s nose that he pushed out of the way to rub at his eyes.

“Those are new,” Rex said by way of greeting, pushing away from the door jamb to cross the small room.

“These?” Cody asked, slipping the glasses off his face to hold them out. “Yeah, they came in with the last supply shipment. Obi-Wan insisted I get a pair. He told me I was making his head hurt with how close I was holding my datapads to my face.”

“Huh,” Rex said curiously. “I didn’t think we could even need glasses.”

“Yeah well, you just gotta love that good old Kaminoan engineering,” Cody replied, rolling his eyes.

Rex felt the nerves that had been bubbling in his stomach finally boil over and he he laughed a little hysterically. He pulled out the chair in front of Cody’s desk, mostly there for Obi-Wan than anyone else, and plopped down hard. He held his stomach with his good hand and laughed until tears sprang to his eyes and he couldn’t make any noise, leaning forward and forcing air out of his lungs. He eventually leaned back in the chair to make eye contact with Cody again, only to start laughing anew at his _ori’vod’s_ bewildered expression.

“Rex?” Cody asked cautiously. “You okay, _vod_? I mean I know I have my moments but this seems a little… excessive.”

Rex wiped at his eyes and smiled at Cody, still letting little chuckles escape past his lips. “It’s really not all that funny. But, do-do you remember when we were cadets, like seven or something, and we had to sit through that sex health class with a couple of the trainers?” Rex laughed again, watching Cody’s expression change as he tried to keep up with the conversation.

“I mean, yeah? Kinda hard to forget, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with my eye glasses?”

“They told us we were sterile!” Rex chuckled again at his own joke. “Bly and I would love to disagree considering our heat cycles are somehow synced from across the kriffing galaxy. I’d bet Fox would have something to say on the matter.”

Cody chuckled a little at Rex’s amusement. “Okay, I can see the humor in that. Although I’m thinking it’s a good thing you’re off that kriffing ship. You have been spending way too much time with your _riduur_ if that’s where your sense of humor is at.”

“Yeah? Well, yours gave you a bed time last time we commed, so I’ll take my sex jokes,” Rex replied.

When their laughter settled down, they stared at each other from across the desk. “Where is Fives Rex? I thought he was going with us.”

“He said he would stop by with me before we ship out again. Wanted to give us all some time to catch up.”

Cody hummed in response, staring at Rex before speaking. “I’m sure you’ll tell me eventually,” he finally said with a small smile.

The back of Rex’s neck went cold and he stared at Cody, floundering for something to say back. “Tell you what?” He asked, berating himself for not being quicker on his feet.

“Oh come off of it, _kih’vod_ ,” Cody said, unimpressed. “I know when you’re hiding something. You’re picking the living hell out of the hem of your shirt. But that’s fine because I know you’ll cave and tell me when you’re ready.”

Rex huffed out a nervous breath and looked away.

“You seem happy, Rex,” Cody said when Rex remained silent, smiling kindly at his brother. “I’m glad to see it. I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems to be doing you well.”

Rex rubbed his good hand across the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s been a hard few months, Codes, losing Echo and all” he replied quietly, voice going rough as he spoke. “When we leave here, it’s just going to get harder. I mean _Manda_ knows how the next few months are going to play out. We don’t get to enjoy things very often. But, we're here now. I have the next 10-day to spend with my _ori’vode_ and _riduur,_ and we get to meet our _vodu’adika._ I’m choosing to focus on that instead of the war.”

Rex looked up at him when he was finished speaking and Cody was struck because they both may have looked 22 on the outside, but there was something painfully young in Rex’s eyes. If the Republic could have seen him then, the war very well may have fallen to a ceasefire. Cody had always said their buckets weren’t for their protection, but rather so no one would have to see their faces.

Cody cleared his throat before answering. “Well, I’m all finished with this _osik,_ ” he gestured at the paperwork surrounding him before continuing, “so let’s go have a good time.”

He stood from his desk and Rex followed, meeting him halfway for a quick hug. Cody patted his shoulders a couple times before letting him go and heading towards the door. He locked the office behind them and the pair made their way through the ship to Coruscant beyond it.

***

Fox had a secret.

Of course, being the highest ranked clone in the Coruscant Guard, he knew a lot of confidential information. He knew where all the Shock Troopers were deployed at any given moment and he held weekly face-to-face meetings with Chancellor Palpatine. The man had an oddly big mouth for a high ranking politician, so Fox knew all sorts of things about the war and the political dealings of the Senate that no other clone was privy to.

He knew more trivial things too, mostly the gossip that kept the morale in the Guard as high as it was. He knew all about Senator Orn Free Taa’s illicit affairs, orgies really, although mostly because he had accidentally stumbled across them more than once. He’d even been invited to join before and had to keep from losing his lunch in his bucket right then and there. He was pretty sure Senator Amidala was sleeping with General Skywalker, although Thire and Thorn adamantly disagreed. It was an argument they had had more than once to distract themselves from the monotony of a ridiculously long, quiet night shift. Stone couldn’t have given a shit if he tried.

But Fox also had his very own secret that he dared only share with those closest to him. His batchmates all knew because he couldn’t keep anything from them if he tried, the vultures. Cody got one good look at him without a bucket on and he always just _knew_ Fox was hiding something, karking older brothers. Commanders Thire, Stone, and Thorn found out by virtue of their positions and living situation.

Unlike the troopers that traveled the galaxy and lived on battleships, the Corrie Guard lived primarily in a complex of old, run down apartments in the higher levels of Coruscant that had fallen into disrepair before the war began. Shortly after the outbreak of the war, the all but abandoned complex was purchased by the Republic government and renovated to be as modestly livable as possible. It was enough to assuage the general public that the troopers, or the ones they could see at least, didn’t live in squalor. It kept the clones sequestered away from the main GAR complex on the surface, and it helped the natborns sleep better at night. None of the troopers of the Guard were complaining, what with the tremendous amount of freedom their living situation granted them. Fox, Stone, Thire, and Thorn lived together in one of the larger apartments, although most of the time it was only inhabited by the latter three. It had clean, running water and electric and a little kitchen that kept them away from the mess hall in the Guard offices near the senate. With what few credits they were allotted or won or earned on the side, they had filled their little home with salvaged furniture and mismatched dishes. When Fox started spending less and less time in their quarters on his off shifts, his sheets still cold and and tucked each morning, the other commanders were quick to corner him in their living room late one evening as he headed towards the door in a set of civvies. Really, Fox was more relieved than concerned having finally told them.

Fox’s secret stood no higher than his shoulders and had to crane her neck to look up at him. She was soft spoken and playful and the most passionate woman he had ever met. She could order the seas on Kamino to fall still and they would be forced to listen, but when he slipped into her apartment late at night, hidden from the prying eyes of a galaxy that would condemn them, she was soft as silk and sweeter than the honey she took in her tea. Early on in the war, when Fox still tripped over himself at the sight of her kind smile being directed at him, he would sit in his office until the early hours of the morning feeling as if he was letting the entire Republic down with his infatuation. After many moons and hardships weathered together, when he sat plaiting her long, lilac hair with the weight of his ring on its chain resting against his chest, he realized it didn’t matter. Fox found his faith in a higher power when he held Riyo Chuchi close in their bed at night.

Fox had barely passed his tenth decant day when he landed on Coruscant and was given command of an entire battalion, still reeling from the blood bath that was the First Battle of Geonosis. He had barely been on planet a few weeks when Riyo Chuchi’s transport landed at the Senate building for the first time. She was 19 years old and looked every bit the politician that had not yet been disillusioned of the idea of peace and prosperity. Fox knew he was karked the moment she tripped and grabbed his arm for support and he felt an electric current shoot through his body at her touch. He risked everything he had, really just his life and his self, for Riyo Chuchi.

After many stolen glances and words left unsaid, they fell inevitably into each other, and Fox was a better man for it. He knew from the beginning that he would stay with Riyo until she asked him to leave or the _Manda_ finally took him. Fox knew from the start with everything he was that he wanted to marry her, and couldn’t find it in himself to be ashamed of how much he sounded like Bly when he commed his batchmates to tell them. The wedding was a few months earlier than they had originally planned, mostly at her mother’s insistence, although neither Fox nor Riyo could find any reason to disagree with her. They travelled to Pantora during the autumn harvest festival as a Senator and her guard, and they married at her family’s estate by the light of a setting sun giving way to a harvest moon.

 _The Republic may never recognize it_ , her mother had said solemnly, _but the Goddess certainly does_. Fox couldn’t care either way, content to devote himself to the love of his life regardless of who approved. It was a quiet, private affair, with only her closest family and a Priestess sworn to secrecy. Fox wore his gray dress uniform, as it was the only set of formal clothes he owned, but his black shoes had still been shined to perfection he could see his reflection in. Riyo was draped in a pale green gown that complimented the clan tattoos that graced her cheeks. _To honor the Goddess and the harvest_ , she had explained of the custom. Her gown fell in soft waves of delicate fabric to rest gently against the ground, nipped in at the ribs and sure to flow loosely away from the gentle curve of her stomach that had developed just days before their vows. Fox didn’t consider himself a religious man, but the sight of her against the sunset nearly brought him to his knees all the same.

The thing is, Fox had another secret. One so closely guarded he didn’t dare tell his batchmates over comm, even a channel as secure as theirs. He waited instead for each of them to meet him in his room on Coruscant with music playing loudly in the background. His fellow commanders didn’t even know until they saw her laying in her mother’s arms in the HoloNews announcement of her birth. She was a little thing, weighing just over 3 kilos when she was born. She had her mother’s blue complexion and delicate features, but her eyes were darker than most Pantorans, a deep brown rather than gold, and she was born with a full head of curly, black hair unlike any Chuchi as far back as their ancestry could remember. Lyra Chuchi was the second love of Fox’s life and the truest danger he had ever faced, and he would lay himself on a cold Kaminoan exam table for decommissioning before he would allow harm to come to her.

Lyra was a shock to their systems. They had always been so _careful_ together, painfully aware of what could happen to them if the wrong person found out. All it took though was some aromatic herb in a cup of a rare, Rodian tea at a diplomatic event to disrupt Riyo’s contraceptive pill. She sipped along respectfully despite its unfortunately bitter aftertaste, all the while casting meaningful glances at Fox standing guard across the room. Later that night, after Fox had slipped into her apartment under the cover of darkness, he tossed her down on the bed playfully, sure to remind her of every look she had graced him with that caused little beads of sweat to gather at the neckline of his blacks. They fell asleep wrapped only in each other none the wiser, his spend still drying between her thighs.

Five weeks passed and her heat never came, although she was on a Senate committee discussing the allocation of relief aid in the Outer Rim, and was more thankful for its tardiness than anything, as they were very close to an agreement. The next week she woke up every morning well before the sun crossed the horizon and barely made it to her en suite ‘fresher to vomit up what little she was able to stomach the evening before. Fox sat behind her on the cold, tile floor, holding back her hair and whispering calm reassurances she couldn’t hear through her misery. She stayed home that entire week believing she had caught a bug and missed the final deliberations of the committee. She was bitter for days when Felucia wasn’t sent what it deserved. The week after that, her heat still hadn’t arrived and neither had her monthly (an unfortunate side effect of being a female omega). Her sickness had extended from the morning to the entire day and she developed an aversion to her favorite soup at the local Pantoran cafe. She sent one of her aids to the market in the middle of the week for a test to confirm her fears, but the whole matter slipped from her mind when the Zillo Beast tore its bloody path through the upper levels of Galactic City. Eight weeks after drinking her fateful cup of tea, Riyo sat with Fox pressed close to her side as they both stared silently at the positive test strip laying on the caff table in her living room.

She cried her fear out on the comm to her mother that night with Fox holding her tight, his hands shaking despite his calm exterior.

By the time they left for their wedding on Pantora a couple months later, Fox had only had the opportunity to tell Wolffe about his impending fatherhood.

All Wolffe had to offer in return was a quietly exclaimed, “ _Osik, vod_.”

Fox couldn’t say that he blamed him.

***

Rex had never much cared for Coruscant. In his 12 short years, he had spent maybe a few months on the planet altogether, and while it was always relatively peaceful, there was something deeply disconcerting about the giant industrial complex of it all. No land or water for miles down and a mass of people constantly rushing their way across the never-ending city made him feel oddly trapped. He hated the air more than anything. No matter where he turned, every breath he took felt indescribably heavy. Truthfully, he would take the fleeting peace he found in the war torn Outer Rim if it meant not spending a lifetime surrounded by metal and air that tasted of exhaust fumes.

Sitting in the back of a cab with Cody on their way through the Senate District, he couldn’t help but feel a sort of warmth for the things he did like about Coruscant. He had always enjoyed the nightlife in the lower levels of Galactic City with its smoky bars and greasy diners he had spent too many evenings in with his batchmates as a shiny, demoted Commander turned Captain, fresh off the ship from Kamino. 79’s had always been a favorite of his too, even when he tried his damndest to drink Wolffe under the table and consistently lost the battle to his _ori’vod_. He even thought fondly of the seedy tattoo parlor he had ended up in with Fox after a long night of revelry early in the war. He could never hate the little crown he had tattooed on his _shebs_ that night, mostly because it matched the one Fox had added to the sleeve he had running up his left arm. _For your namesake,_ Fox had explained when he picked it out and had it placed near the little wolf, twin yellow slashes, and stylized 24 already on his forearm. Really, when he thought about it, it wasn’t Coruscant Rex was ever happy to see. Coruscant meant brothers, and they made it worth it.

He reminded himself of that when their cab pulled up outside of the apartment building a few klicks from the Senate Building. It was no 500 Republica, but Rex still had the sense they were a few too many social classes below its target demographic to set foot on the property. Still, they made their way inside and around the rotund lobby and down a hidden, cramped corridor to a droid service lift that shot them towards the top floors of the building. The dizzying lift deposited them on their floor and they made their way undisturbed to the door at the end of the hall.

Cody looked over at Rex and shrugged before knocking twice firmly.

It wasn’t a few seconds before it shot open to a frantic Riyo Chuchi on the other side. “Shhh!” She hushed them quickly, a wild look on her face and a wet dish towel hanging loosely in her grip. She was as put together as she always was, not even a hair of place, but Rex could still see exhaustion rimming her eyes. She stood stock still for a moment, listening, when finally a shrill cry ripped through the apartment behind her. Her shoulders visibly slumped. “By the goddess,” she swore, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, a genuine smile pulled up the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry, that was terribly rude of me. Please, come in. Your brothers are already here,” she said, stepping aside so Cody and Rex could walk into the apartment, door sliding shut behind them.

“It’s not a problem, Senator,” Cody replied, tilting his head respectfully.

Riyo narrowed her eyes and swatted the dish towel in her hands at him. “We’ve been over this _Marshall Commander._ It’s Riyo. I can spell it if you would like,” she chastised. She looked past Cody to address Rex. “That goes for you too. None of this ‘ma’am’ business in my own home.”

Rex put his hands up in submission and chuckled. “Okay, okay. We heard you. How’ve you been Riyo?” He asked, following her through the foyer and into the living room.

She walked to an overstuffed loveseat on the far side of the room and sank into it heavily. “I try not to be one to complain, but I’m a little tired,” she answered on a laugh before noticing the towel still clutched in her hands. She tossed it on the side table to her right and shrugged at them helplessly.

Rex sat on the couch nearest her armchair, keeping the wide wall of windows well within his view. Cody plopped down next to him before answering. “I imagine a little one would do that.”

“And you would be right,” Fox answered, walking into the room from a side corridor with a bundle of pink blankets cradled in his arms.

“You look like _osik_ , Fox’ika,” Cody said, turning in his seat to look at him.

“It’s nice to see you too, _mir’sheb,_ ” Fox deadpanned.

Cody snorted at his brother and crossed the room to where Fox was standing in the doorway. “Oh kark off, _kih’vod._ You know I’m not here for you anyway,” Cody replied, smiling warmly at Fox. He sidled up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder, leaning in close to the bundle of blankets in Fox’s arms. He gently reach a hand forward to shiftone out of the way and Rex caught a glimpse of his niece’s curly black hair for the first time. “Little gods, Fox,” Cody exclaimed softly. “She’s beautiful. Lucky for you two she looks like her mother. We may be clones, but Alpha always said you were an ugly baby.”

Riyo laughed from across the room and Fox glared at his wife without heat. “ _Ne’johaa, Kote. Hiibir gar vodu’adika._ ”

“Gladly,” Cody replied, carefully shifting the drowsy baby into his arms and retaking his seat next to Rex on the couch. He adjusted her in his grip as he got comfortable against the cushions, speaking softly to her all the while.

“Good to see you too, Fox,” Rex called sarcastically from across the room, shifting to cross one ankle over the other knee.

“Ah, don’t be an ass, Rex’ika,” Fox replied, crossing the room and slapping Rex on the shoulder before settling down next to Riyo on the loveseat.

Rex glared playfully at him before turning his attention towards Riyo. When they made eye contact though, her mouth was quirked curiously at him. Rex returned the expression and followed her gaze when she glanced down. He felt his heart seize in his chest when he saw his injured left hand was resting low on his stomach. He waved the brace at her with a wry smile. “Training accident,” he said by way of explanation.

Riyo opened her mouth to speak again when there was a commotion across the room.

“I heard shouting in Mando’a,” a voice called from the kitchen. Bly walked into the living room carrying a few boxes of pizza, plates balanced precariously on top of them. He was followed closely by Wolffe carrying a case of beer in one hand and a case of water in the other. “Which one of ‘em do you think pissed him off already, Wolffe?” He asked.

“Kriff if I care as long as no one gets tossed out a window this time,” Wolffe replied, rolling his eyes and setting his load down on the caff table in the center of the room. “Glad to see you two finally dragged your sorry _shebs’e_ out of the Outer Rim,” he said, addressing Cody and Rex.

“Well, what can I say, _vod_ ,” Rex said, shaking off his interaction with Riyo. “Your smiling face is worth crossing the galaxy for.”

“Ha ha, take a beer and shut up,” Wolffe replied, holding a cold bottle out by the neck for Rex to take.

After half a moment of hesitation, Rex took the bottle and settled it against his crossed legs before accepting a plate full of pizza. He sat it down and breathed in slowly, silently thanking the Force for its mercy when the waves of nausea he had come to expect didn’t wash over him. He took a careful bite, rejoicing over the overwhelming experience of being able to stomach anything more than a ration bar. A water was waved in his face when he looked up again, and he smiled gratefully at Riyo as he accepted it from her grasp.

“Hey Rex,” Wolffe called from door leading out to the terrace. “Want a smoke before you eat?” He asked, waving a pack at him with a cigarette resting loosely between his lips.

“No, thanks, _vod,_ ” he answered. “I gave it up.”

Wolffe raised a dubious eye brow at him. “Yeah? How long ago?” He asked, eyeing where Rex knew his hands were shaking in his lap from the withdrawal.

“About two days ago,” he answered, offering no further explanation.

Wolffe just grunted at him, letting it go. He propped the door open and blew smoke out to add to the smog of Coruscant. Rex hated the little spark of jealousy that sprung up in his gut as he turned back to the first real meal he had been able to stomach in nearly a week.

Fox clicked on the holo and flipped through until he settled on a bolo-ball tournament and set the volume low. Everyone ate in relative peace, too content with the company to rib at each other like they usually do, save for the random jab thrown across the room about the game.

Cody was going back and forth between taking careful bites of food and stroking his thumb across the knit hat covering Lyra’s head while she slept when Wolffe suddenly leapt up from his spot in the armchair nearest the terrace. He shouted something at the holoscreen while Bly groaned loudly in defeat at tossed a few credit chits at his brother’s excitedly grinning face. All the sudden noise was too much for little Lyra resting in Cody’s arms, and she let out a shrill, screaming cry.

“I swear to the _Manda_ , I should have smothered you both on Kamino when I had the chance!” Fox exclaimed, slapping a hand over his tired eyes.

Riyo started to set her plate aside to get up but Rex waved her away. She eyed him for a moment and resettled in her spot, curious. “Let me see her, Cody,” Rex said, reaching towards him.

Cody was more than happy to oblige, quickly resettling Lyra in Rex’s arms, careful to arrange her away from splint on his left side.

“You’re okay, _ad’ika_ ,” Rex whispered to her, standing from his spot on the couch to pace behind it. “I think they’re loud, too. But don’t worry, Wolffe likes to make all the shinies cry, and you’re just about the shiniest of them all.” The effect was instantaneous. Lyra fell quiet at the sound of Rex’s soothing voice. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the fat tears that had settled on her cheeks. “You’re just fine though. I don’t really like being woken up either. Poor thing. You had to see Cody’s face right away too,” he soothed, humming low in his chest so she could feel it where she was nuzzled against him, disregarding Cody’s indignant huff. Rex laughed quietly when she turned her head towards the vibrations, little mouth open and searching against the fabric of his jacket. He swiped his thumb across her lips to draw her head the other way and continued. “Yeah, I’d imagine you’re a little hungry after sleeping so long, but I’m afraid I can’t help you there.” He fell quiet, smiling gently down at the baby trying to pull his thumb into her mouth.

She was tiny. Even at a couple months old, Rex thought she was barely bigger than the newly decanted clones back on Kamino. Everything about her was soft and delicate, and the firm weight of her resting in his arms caused a thrill of excitement to spark in his chest at the thought of holding his own baby. They’d be bigger, he was sure, with two clone parents instead of just one. The hair may have matched, although there was always a chance they’d be blond. Either way, no matter how he pictured what his baby with Fives may look like, he yearned for the day he would hold them for the first time. Although, Lyra, who was valiantly trying to suckle on the side of his hand, was doing an incredible job at scratching an itch Rex didn’t realize he had.

He finally looked up when someone cleared their throat across the room, only then realizing they had all fallen silent, watching him. Riyo rose her seat and walked over to him.

“Goddess, I don’t think anyone has been able to calm her that quickly before. She tends to be a bit fussy and inconsolable when she gets that way. But, I think you’re right and someone needs to eat,” she said, shifting Lyra into her arms. She settled back in her spot on the loveseat and tossed a thin blanket over her chest and shoulders before taking a moment to coax Lyra to nurse. “Where did you learn that party trick?” she asked once she was settled.

Rex sat back down next to Cody on the couch and smiled sheepishly at her. “Kamino,” he answered. “All troopers go on creche duty at least one week a month after the age of 8 or so.”

Bly rolled his eyes and picked up where Rex left off. “Sure, we all spent some time with the little’uns, but besides Rex, we were all terrible with the infants. The four of us,” he gestured around the room with his bottle of beer, “would get shoved in with the older ones, 2 through 4 standard or so,” he explained. “But Rex here was the baby whisperer. He _chose_ to spend his creche time in the nursery with the newly decanted clones. The rest of us were pretty much lost as soon as one of them started crying. All it took was Rex picking the little biter up and they’d calm down. Never seen anything like it.”

“I spent more than just my required time in that nursery, too,” Rex added. “The trainers thought for a while that I wouldn’t make it off Kamino what with being blond and all. There weren’t a lot of mutie clones around back then, and even then most of them were rank and file. They had never let a Commander out of training with a defect before, and I didn’t want to end up in maintenance or something. Always thought the creche would be a better place to stay if I had to. Of course, we still hadn’t aged out of the program when the war broke out. So, they just dropped me from a CC to a CT and made me a Captain instead of a Commander.” Rex didn’t hold many happy memories from his later days on Kamino, always aware of the threat of decommissioning or indentured servitude in the sterile halls for the rest of his conceivable life, but he always considered his time with the littlest of the clones a highlight.

Riyo hummed in acknowledgment, a frown forming on her face. “All because you’re blond?” She asked.

“It was a bigger deal then than it is now. Things like eye color, hair color, height, freckles, or really anything _different_ was looked at… harshly,” Fox answered. “Although, some of the Clone Commanders on Kamino say there’s still some prejudice from the trainers.”

“Well, that’s still an incredible gift you have,” Riyo said to Rex. “I image we would sleep a lot more if Fox could do that,” she continued, teasing her husband.

They fell into a playful back and forth bickering with their daughter resting between them, and Rex could see the opportunity that had presented itself for what it was. He took a deep breath, thinking on what he knew he had to say, tasting the words on his tongue while he deliberated. “Yeah, well I imagine it’ll come in handy,” he finally said.

Riyo’s eyes flashed knowingly when she turned to look at him. _Karking Senators_ , Rex thought when they made eye contact. “Really? How do you mean?” She asked.

Anxiety rolled in Rex’s stomach but he knew he was too far in to back down. Instead, he looked around at his _vod’e_ surrounding him and forced his heart to calm in his chest.

“It’s been a strange few days,” he started leaning back in his seat to see his brothers staring at him from all corners of the room. “But what I mean is, according to my medic, Lyra is going to be getting a little cousin in about six months.” He took a long drink from his water and hoped it covered his nervous fidgeting. 

If a pin had been dropped in that moment, Rex was convinced it would be heard as it hit the plush carpet beneath their feet. In those brief moments of silence as his _aliit_ took in what he had said, Rex felt faintly like he was drowning.

Cody was the first to break the silence with a quiet, huffed laugh. “You’re karking kidding,” he said incredulously, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Karking hell, Rex. Th-that… You’re not joking, are you?” Wolffe asked, uncharacteristically unsure when he spoke.

Rex’s hands were definitely shaking and he gripped his knee tight with his right hand. “No, not joking, although I’m still not so sure myself sometimes” he replied, rubbing his splinted hand over his head nervously. “According to my medic, I’m due around the last Fete Week of the year, during the Festival of Stars.”

The silence was shorter that time, although Rex thought it was all the more oppressive for it.

“Little gods, you’re actually pregnant?” Bly asked breathlessly.

Rex couldn’t help the smile the thought brought to his lips. “Yeah, I’m really pregnant, _vod._ ”

“Fives knows?” Fox questioned seriously, having been quiet up until that point.

Throwing an annoyed look Fox’s way Rex answered. “Of course Fives knows! What did you think? I was asking for an exit strategy?”

“I think what he means to ask,” Cody cut in before Fox could reply, stepping in to mediate like always, “ _Gar briikase’cuy_?”

_Are you happy?_

Rex looked over the room at his shell shocked brothers and and slightly less shocked sister, thinking over the question for a long moment before answering. “ _Elek,_ ” he replied breathlessly. “ _‘Lek._ Yes, we are. We are really happy.” Rex looked down at his hands before speaking again. “I know it’s not ideal, with the war. And we know it’s going to cause problems in the government. But,” he looked up again, bottom lip trembling as he spoke, “we’re really excited for this baby.”

“Then that’s enough for us,” Cody said quietly. “Kark the war, kark the politics, kark it all if that’s what it takes.”

There were murmurs of assent throughout the room. “Do you need any help?” Riyo asked. “Supplies, credits, political backing of a cloned individuals rights bill?”

Rex laughed. “Thank you, really. But we’re not quite there yet. We’re going to talk to General Skywalker soon and figure out a plan from there.”

“Oh, going straight for Amidala then,” Riyo joked and Rex laughed even though he knew he shouldn’t.

“No comment,” he replied with a smile.

Their little party continued on from there with all the usual loud joking and childish bravado they could only really show around each other. Cody eventually stole the unopened beer from where it rested against his leg, and Wolffe fell victim to Lyra’s wrath when he went to pick her up and she spit up on his black shirt in protest. Rex was surrounded by family and he felt more confident than he had in days.

On the way out the door later that evening, long after the baby had been put to bed and Bly had started listing dangerously to the left after one too many drinks, Riyo pulled Rex to the side and pressed a little piece of flimsi to the palm of his hand.

“My private comm line,” she said in explanation. “I don’t imagine you know many other people that have gone through this before, and I learned a friend can help. If you ever want to talk, or you ever have any questions, I’m here.”

“Thank you,” he rasped out, trying to keep his eyes from misting over.

As Rex watched the lights of the city fly past his window on the way back to the ship after they had left, he found himself reaching a hand to rest over his still flat stomach, again, and allowed himself the indulgence.

“Still getting used to it?” Cody asked quietly, careful to keep his voice lower than the music the cab driver was humming along to.

“Yeah,” Rex replied. “You could say that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:
> 
> kad- penis (lit. sword)  
> ori’vod- big brother  
> vod- brother, comrade, “mate”  
> kih’vod- little brother  
> Manda- the collective soul or heaven- supreme, overarching, guardian-like  
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> vodu’adika- niece, nephew  
> osik- shit  
> shebs- backside, rear, buttocks  
> mir’sheb- smartass  
> Ne’johaa, Kote. Hiibir gar vodu’adika.- Shut up, Kote. Take your niece.  
> ba’vodu- uncle, aunt  
> ad'ika- little one  
> aliit- clan, family  
> elek- yes  
> ‘lek- yeah


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! I'm early! Thank you again for reading! I'm very excited for this chapter. This is we're the fun begins and all of that.
> 
> Please be warned this is where we will start to earn our rating. Again, nothing will ever be terribly explicit, but please be aware of the sexual content all the same.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Make sure to let me know what you think!

Before they knew it, Rex and Fives had been married for fives months, half a standard year on Coruscant. The actual day had passed sometime during hyperspace travel, marked only by a late night and a holofilm they didn’t watch playing on a datapad in their quarters on the _Resolute_. Rex would have been content with just that, the memory of Fives’s desperate gasps against the back of his neck still raising the hair on his arms and sending a thrill down his spine when he thought about them. But, the opportunity had presented itself to have a real celebration, and he wasn’t about to pass it up.

So, at the end of their first week on Coruscant, he found himself pulling on the nicest pair of civvies he owned, a dark pair of denim jeans and a dark shirt under a soft, brown leather jacket he had found in a dingy, old second-hand shop the last time he was on leave. It was worn in some spots, scuffed and a little scratched in others, but he loved the reassuring weight of it resting on his shoulders all the same. He looked himself over in the small ‘fresher mirror and tugged at the waistband of his pants where it pulled tight and left red indents in the skin just under his navel, something that hadn’t happened the last time he pulled them on. With a sigh, Rex gave up the fight with his clothes and resigned himself to the slight pinch for the rest of the night.

Fives was sitting on the bed scrolling through a datapad when Rex walked back into their room. He was similarly dressed, dark jeans and shirt under a military green, canvas coat. Setting the datapad to the side, he looked up and let out a low whistle.

“All for me, huh?” Fives asked with a smirk, standing to sling his arms around Rex’s hips and pull him close.

Rex scoffed at him but set his hands on his shoulders. “Maybe I just like to dress up for myself,” he replied, granting Fives a small peck on the lips.

Fives leaned into the contact when Rex pulled away, pulling him tighter against himself. “Then I’m just grateful for the view,” he replied, slipping a hand lower to cup his ass through the too-tight jeans. He pulled Rex in again to kiss him deeper, slipping his tongue past his lips, enjoying the shiver he felt run through his _riduur_.

Rex kissed him back slowly, savoring the sweet moment of peace, before groaning low in his throat and pulling away. “We’re going to miss dinner if you keep doing that,” Rex rasped, feeling faintly wet with the beginnings of slick.

“I’m okay with that,” Fives said, nipping at his earlobe. “I’m sure I can find something better to do with my time anyway.”

Fives started to run his lips down the column of his throat and Rex finally pulled away. “Stop that. I like these pants,” he gasped, laughing breathlessly. “You’re horrible, you know that?”

“And proud of it,” Fives replied with a wink, releasing Rex from his hold only to slip an arm around his waist to guide him towards the door.

The _Resolute_ was almost completely empty when they made their way through to the exit. Even that early in the evening most troopers were out in the city finding whatever trouble they could. Fox had already commed Rex with the names and designations of a few men that had been arrested a few days prior. They were all still a bit shiny, having seen active combat but never the war zone that Coruscant could be. They had walked into a bar that didn’t allow clones, one all the older troopers had long since learned to avoid. A couple of natborn men staggered up to them having had a few too many drinks and tried to take a swing at one of them, Copper of Gamma Company, Rex thought it may have been, remembering the bright orange hair the trooper had been decanted with in the mugshot. The young clones had taken the surly group of men down easily, not one of them suffering so much as a busted lip in the struggle. Rex couldn’t help the pride he felt when Fox told him that the youngest of the group, a shiny not even old enough to drink on Coruscant at only the equivalent of 17 standard years of age, was from Torrent Company.

Everything had been relatively peaceful otherwise. Although, Rex couldn’t help but think about the frantic comm he had received from Wolffe the night prior. The usually stoic Commander had commed at damn near the middle of the night and Rex’s body hadn’t wanted to wake up out of spite. It took Fives hitting him in the back of the head with a pillow for Rex to pick up the incessantly chirping device and growl into it before quickly sobering and sitting up in bed as Wolffe spoke frantically.

One of the troopers that had been sent out young following Abregado, Comet, had woken up drenched in sweat feeling like his skin was trying to crawl off his body. He had showed up at Wolffe’s door shaky and panicked, not really understanding what was happening to him. Wolffe had commed Sinker, the only omega in the entirety of the 104th, desperate for help he couldn’t provide as an alpha, but the comm went unanswered. Rex spent the rest of the night cycle on the _Triumphant II_. He moved Comet to a room secluded away from General Berthing and curled around him on the cramped little bunk as the newly presenting omega shivered and cried through the beginning of his very first heat. _The first time is always the worst_ , Rex had whispered to him, holding the boy, not even 20 standard yet, close to his chest, pressing his nose to the scent gland in his neck. Sinker took over in the morning, sliding into Rex’s spot on the bed and whispering something about a broken comm and a motel room, love bites littering his neck and the strong alpha scent of Boost clinging to his skin. Rex accepted his apology with a nod and a pitying smile before heading back to the _Resolute_ to crash in his own bed.

Rex was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Fives’s arm slip from around his waist to settle back at his own side. He smiled sadly at Rex and gestured at the exit of the _Resolute._ “Don’t wanna offend the natborns,” he said bitterly. Rex leaned in and kissed Fives one last time, fighting back the unpleasant flip of frustration in his stomach, before starting down the ramp at a respectful distance from his _riduur._

***

They had dinner in one of the nicer clone-friendly restaurants in Galactic City. That is to say the leather seats of the booths were worn but not cracked, and the food was warm and filling and cheap. They had wandered through the crowded streets, peaking inside each establishment with a little trooper helmet decal in the window, showing their support for the men that fought for their neighbors’ right to deny them service, until they had found one to their liking. They settled in across from each other and talked quietly about nothing at all, happy to pretend for a few fleeting moments that there was no war and nothing waiting for them across the galaxy. Rex and Fives were content to pretend they belonged only to each other.

After they were full and happy and Rex could feel the band of his pants digging in just that little bit more, they ventured deeper into the city to the strip of stores that accepted their credits without complaint. Fives raised an eyebrow at Rex when he led them into the second-hand shop they frequented when on planet, but nodded in understanding when they moved towards the back of the store to stand in front of a sign marked ‘Paternity.’ They were hidden by overstuffed racks of clothing while Rex rifled quickly through his limited options, handing Fives random bundles of clothing as he went. Fives followed him into a tight dressing room hardly designed for two men of their sizes. They tripped over each other, bracing themselves against the flimsy walls, laughing all the while at some of the ridiculous, tent-like articles of clothing Rex slipped over his head. With tears still gathered in their eyes from their hysterics, they sorted through their mess to pull out the few useable outfits Rex had found. They walked up to the counter manned only by a teenaged twi’lek boy reclined in a chair with a datapad in his hands, his feet propped up on the service desk. Rex cleared his throat and the kid glanced up at him, begrudgingly standing to scan each item and toss them into a bag, popping his gum all the while.

When they walked back out into the street, the sky had truly fallen dark from where they stood so many levels below the surface. The area was questionable at best, the walkways lined with forgotten trash and even more forgotten people, air hazy from the smoke of death sticks leaking out from abandoned alleyways. But when Fives walked out towards the barrier to hail a cab, the light from a dingy street lamp illuminated his profile, black ‘5’ standing out in stark contrast against his tanned skin. The worry lines on his face melted away in the dim light and he looked younger than he had even when Rex had met him on Rishi. It knocked Rex breathless, remembering his husband really was only 20. Fives’s full lips parted, tongue darting out to wet them before he smiled charmingly at the cab driver, and Rex was struck dumb because no matter the danger they were both in, that man was willing to risk everything for him, for their _ad’ika._ He had never been more in love with Fives than he was in that moment.

When the door to their room on the _Resolute_ slid shut behind them, Fives had barely enough time to set the bag of second-hand clothes down against the wall before Rex had his face grasped between his hands. Fives rested his hands against his hips and dipped his forehead against Rex’s. They swayed together gently for a moment, eyes closed while they shared the very breath that passed their lips. Rex was the first to give in, sealing his mouth to Fives’s, trying desperately to will his husband to understand the pressure he felt in his chest. He was vaguely aware of the overwhelmed tears that sprang to his eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as Fives ran his lips over his cheek and down towards his neck to nip lightly at the faint pink scar that was his mating mark.

“Fives,” Rex gasped.

“I know,” Fives rumbled against his neck, laving over every sensitive nerve ending on Rex’s throat.

They fell into bed after that, pressed close together and wriggling out of the layers that kept them apart. Fives brushed his thumbs over the angry red marks Rex’s waistband had left on his stomach after the offending clothes were kicked away. He traced his way across Rex’s chest with open mouthed kisses, sure to pay extra attention to every spot he knew would coax a needy gasp from his _riduur’s_ lungs _._ He reached the welts on Rex’s abdomen and brushed them away reverently with a whisper before venturing his exploration lower, Rex grasping their sheets desperately as he did.

When Fives finally settled over top of him after bringing him to the edge over and over again with nothing more than his fingers and his tongue, Rex was helpless but to grasp at his shoulders, head thrown back against the pillows. He clutched at the back of Fives’s head to pull him down into messy, uncoordinated kisses to cover the strangled moans that escaped him with every deep thrust.

They held onto one another like they were afraid the other would disappear, not willing to give the war its chance. And when they finished together, it was with each other’s names traded on the breath between them.

They laid in bed all evening after. Fives traced his finger up and down Rex’s naked chest. Rex’s eyes grew heavy as he savored the sensation, spent and satisfied.

He opened his eyes when he felt Fives’s hand dip lower on his abdomen. “Don’t even think about it,” he said sternly, tired, squinted eyes ruining the effect.

“I’m not doing anything!” Fives exclaimed with a laugh.

“Mmhmm, I’m sure. Then where does that hand think it’s going?”

Fives huffed at him before falling quiet. Rex was intrigued to see his cheeks flush pink. “Really, I just wanted to touch your stomach,” he mumbled.

“My stomach?” Rex asked, opening his eyes more fully. He rested his hand on one side of his mostly flat stomach, grazing a thumb back and forth across it. “You don’t need to be embarrassed by that, I do it more than I care to admit. There’s not really much to see right now, I’m afraid,” he replied softly. “My clothes are a little tight in the waist, but Kix said it’s just the weight I need to gain anyway.”

Fives smiled warmly at him and rested his hand next to Rex’s. “You’re softer than you used to be.”

Rex huffed a laugh at him. “Anyone else would knock you upside the head for saying that.”

“You know what I mean,” Fives replied, exasperated. “You say there’s no difference, but I can see it.”

Leaning up on one elbow, Rex removed his hand from where it cradled his stomach and grasped the back of Fives’s neck, pulling him closer yet again.

***

Rex reached past the shower door blindly searching for a towel, trying to keep water from dripping to the floor around him. After a couple moments of catching nothing but air, he leaned his head out and groaned when he realized it was still folded neatly on the vanity top across the room. He slid the door the rest of the way open and stepped out onto the cold tile floor, a puddle forming as soon as he set his foot down. He grabbed the towel and wiped down the foggy mirror before dragging it across his arms and chest, stopping abruptly when he reached his stomach.

He looked up at himself in the streaked mirror, backing away a few steps to see himself more fully. “Huh,” he said, turning to the side then facing forward, swiveling his hips a couple times to take in his body in the mirror. To a natborn, he may have looked like any other clone after a large meal, although they didn’t often get many of those. But with the practiced eye of someone that saw his own figure reflected back at him hundreds of times a day in almost everyone he looked at, Rex could see the bump that had formed in his lower stomach nearly overnight.

“There you are,” Rex whispered, reaching a hand to cradle the bottom of it.

He stood there longer than he should have, ghosting his fingers across the little bump, staring at his reflection in the foggy mirror to remind himself that it was real.

It was firmer than he expected, not like the soft layer of fat he had been developing like Kix told him he needed. He pressed the pads of his fingers down firmly and just _knew_ that those karking jeans wouldn’t fit.

Rex hadn’t had much exposure to pregnant people, only in passing when he met civilians on relief missions and that time he had dinner with Fox and Riyo on Coruscant before Lyra was born, but he did have access to the HoloNet. Examining himself closely, staring down every inch of his body he could see in the reflection, he could see other changes too, things that had been happening all along that he had chosen to ignore.

All clones were physically fit as a requirement of their existence. Jango Fett was lean and dangerous, and they were trained from the cradle to be the same way, but there was a lot of variation in every battalion. Infantry regiments like in the 501st and 212th were built solid, hours of weights and sparring and training courses building the troopers up to take a hit and stay standing. The ARC troopers even more so. _Built like brick shit houses,_ Alpha would say, whatever that meant. The pilots, however, were smaller framed to fit comfortably in cramped cockpits for long hours. They ran and built up their endurance until they were all tall and lean, easily distinguishable even outside of their streamlined armor. Battalion medics were much the same. They were strong men, able to lift a trooper and throw them over a shoulder when they needed to, and they often did. But standing side by side, Kix would always be slimmer than Jesse by virtue of his profession, his fingers less calloused, hands more steady. That’s not to mention General Fisto’s SCUBA troopers, not a kilo of fat on them, broad shouldered and narrow hipped from a lifetime of relying on their arms to keep them alive.

Rex had never not been slender and fit, having been pushed further and further his entire life. He had always been broad, his torso firm and corded with muscle that led to a trim waist and narrow hips. He tended to be on the thinner side though, like all the other infantry troopers that would survive for weeks at a time on ration packs while on the surface of hostile planets. There were times when his hip bones jutted out sharply from his abdomen and he could almost count each of his ribs through his skin. Running his hands down his sides then though, he was a long way from the half starving captain that gave his last ration pack to an 18 year old shiny that had never known what hunger felt like. He ran his hands across his face and turned his head side to side. It was more rounded and his cheeks bones didn’t cut as sharp of lines as they used to, instead making him look subtly softer with the weight he had been gaining. His ribs were more padded although the most notable change, aside from the gentle curve of his stomach, was his chest. His usually taught, firm pecs had given way and were softer and fuller, more sensitive to the touch.

“Am I missing something?” Fives asked from the doorway, making Rex jump in surprise at being caught.

“Kriff, Fives!” Rex exclaimed, dropping his hands to his sides and turning his head to look at him. “Don’t do that!”

“Okay! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he responded with a kind smile. “I was starting to get worried. The shower shut off and you never came back out.”

Rex let out a centering breath and held out his hand for Fives to take. “Come here.”

Fives took his hand and Rex dragged him further into the room to stand at his side in front of the mirror. They stood there in silence, staring at each other in their reflections. The changes in Rex’s body were even more stark next to Fives. Everything about him was sharp and hard and designed to be deadly, chiseled muscle from his arms to his chest and abs all the way down to his sturdy thighs and tight calves. Next to his husband, Rex realized he was likely the only trooper in the entirety of the GAR that had ever looked the way he did then. He didn’t much feel like a clone. He wasn’t sure that was a bad thing.

Using the hand still held in his grasp, Rex guided Fives to his stomach, to the little bump that had taken residence between his hips.

Fives let out a startled gasp and turned away from their reflections in the mirror to look at Rex directly. He was astonished, delight washing over his face, and he raised his other hand to cup around where their baby rested. Kix had told Rex the little one wasn’t much larger than a jogan fruit at that point, and when he finally started to show, it would mostly be his body adjusting for the baby to grow larger as the weeks dragged on. But Rex didn’t really care because Fives was looking at him like he had hung the moons above Mandalore, and he himself was nearly giddy with excitement. 

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Rex cleared his throat. “Guess this isn’t some elaborate joke Kix was trying to pull,” he joked.

“Heh, she’s really there then,” Fives replied, looking back up at Rex, hands still pressed to his stomach.

“She?” Rex asked on a laugh. “Now what makes you say she?”

Fives ducked his head in embarrassment, sliding his hands around Rex’s waist. “Just a feeling,” he mumbled.

Rex hummed in acknowledgement, reaching his arms up to wrap around his _riduur’s_ neck. “A daughter would be sweet, although I don’t think either of us knows the slightest bit about about girls,” he replied.

“That’s gonna be half the fun.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They stood holding each other in the steamy bathroom, and Rex’s heart swelled when he pictured Fives holding a tiny, newborn baby girl in the palms of his hands. Although, picturing the baby as a boy garnered much the same reaction, so he may have just been infatuated with the idea of his husband with an _ik’aad_. “Fives,” he said eventually.

“Yeah,” he rumbled.

“I’m naked, _cyare._ ”

Fives pulled away from his neck and smirked at him. “I don’t see the problem. Actually, I can think of a few things we can do while you’re naked,” he said lowly, hands wandering past Rex’s hips.

Rex laughed and broke out of Fives’s hold. “I’m sure you can seeing as I’m pregnant with your kid!,” he exclaimed, bending to pick up his towel and wrap it around his hips. He turned back to Fives and leaned in close, not quite touching. “But hold that thought. You may have a shot with that line later when I’m done chewing out a shiny,” he whispered against his lips. Fives leaned in to close the distance, but Rex had already turned and walked through the door.

***

Walking through the halls of the _Resolute_ to his office, Rex wasn’t sure he would ever go back to wearing regular pants after putting on paternity pants for the first time.

He wasn’t showing terribly much, only enough to look visibly pregnant without a shirt, or maybe if he was wearing just his blacks. But when he went to pull on the denim jeans that had played at being a tourniquet a few nights before, they stubbornly would not button over his bump. He had plopped down on the bed, groaning into his hands in frustration when Fives walked over with a bundle of fabric in hand. Rex had unfolded it to reveal a pair of freshly washed paternity pants they had purchased when they went to dinner. Rex had nearly cried at the gesture, a side effect he was getting very kriffing tired of. But he still groaned in relief when they slid easily past his hips, the band settling comfortably, if still a bit loose, around his waist.

When Rex turned down the corridor, there was already a trooper waiting outside his office. He was dressed casually, loose fitting pants and a GAR issued t-shirt. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he was looking down at the ground, shoulders tensed up by his ears. When he heard Rex’s footsteps drawing closer, he jerked to attention, spine straightening almost painfully, a few errant strands of hair falling in his face from the mass of it piled on top of his head with an elastic. Rex’s heart ached at the boy’s youth. There was not a line or wrinkle marring his skin, face not yet worn with worry around his mouth and forehead like Rex knew it would be in the next few years like every other trooper he had ever met. In fact, the only visible marking Rex could see was a single tear drop tattoo under his right eye. It was obviously fresh, still red around the edges and smeared shiny with bacta.

“Sir!” He called out, body tense and unmoving.

Rex raised an eyebrow at the young trooper and let him stand there stock still as he walked to the office door and unlocked it with his code. It slid open and Rex crossed the little room to sit behind his desk. “Are you going to stand outside my door all day? Or do you plan on coming in any time soon?” Rex called out.

The trooper all but tripped over himself trying to walk into the office, coming to stand unsteadily behind the guest chair before thinking better and sitting down stiffly on the edge of it. Rex couldn’t help how pleased he was at the reaction he could get out of his shinies.

“Tell me, trooper, do you know why we are here on my day off?” Rex asked sternly hating how the question made the boy’s face go a little pale.

“Yes, sir,” he replied quickly.

“Then why don’t you explain it to me. Because how I see it is that you went and pissed off the natborns, and now I’m having to take time out of my day to deal with it,” Rex said to him, although his heart really wasn’t in it.

“O-of course, sir,” the boy stuttered out. He took a breath and moved his hands from his legs to the arms of the chair and back again nervously. “I was arrested for getting in a fight in a bar.”

Rex surveyed his face for a moment before speaking again. “Tup right?” He asked. When the boy nodded his head he continued. “You’re listed as only eight and a half years old. You’re not allowed to drink on Coruscant for another year and a half. Why were you in that bar in the first place?”

Tup looked down towards his hands before looking back up at Rex, face set firmly. “I wasn’t in the bar, sir. I was walking past it with my batchmate. We had heard about the trooper helmets businesses use to show we can be there from Commander Tano and we were trying to find a place to eat. There was shouting inside and I just stopped to look,” he explained.

For the first time since the conversation started, Rex’s expression broke from its neutral mask, his brows raising in disbelief. “So, you’re telling me you got arrested for watching a bar fight from outside?”

“No, sir. I was arrested for hitting one of the natborns in the mouth. But I hadn’t intended on being in the bar.”

Rex brought a hand up to rub at his forehead where he could feel a headache trying to start. “Just tell me what happened, Tup,” he sighed.

“Yes, sir,” Tup replied quickly, getting the sense Rex had grown tired of the conversation. “I was walking past the bar with my batchmate when we heard yelling. I looked inside to see what was happening and there were some troopers in an argument with these really drunk natborns. I figured they would be fine and I was going to walk away, honest. But then one of the natborns got in Copper’s face. Told him he didn’t care what a clone had to say to him, let alone a defective clone. I got angry, sir. I have a batchmate that didn’t have any color to his hair or his skin, decanted that way. He never made it off Kamino and he works in communications there now. No one should get to talk to a clone that way and I hit him right when Commander Thire walked in. I don’t regret it and I’m prepared for whatever punishment you have for me, sir.”

Rex loved the kid.

“You said you were with your batchmate. Where was he during all of this?”

Tup ran a hand across the back of his neck. “He ran off,” he replied. “He said he didn’t want to get into it. He’s a bit afraid of breaking the rules.”

Rex nodded at Tup, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. “Here’s the thing, Tup. Copper and those troopers from Gamma Company you were arrested with are being dealt with by their company captain. I don’t know why they were there and I don’t have any say over what happens to them. I don’t really want to punish you. Honestly, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same thing if I heard someone saying that to another trooper,” Rex paused for a breath and Tup looked at him hopefully. “Unfortunately, Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard is not only _my_ batchmate, but he’s also my _ori’vod._ If he found out he had to process your detainment paperwork and I didn’t at least make you scrub a toilet, he would cross the galaxy to kick my _shebs_.” Tup’s hopeful expression immediately fell and Rex couldn’t stop his laugh. “Ah, drop the look _vod._ Seeing as I’m a ‘defective clone’ I’m letting you off easy. You have to do the laundry for all the troopers in your room for two weeks. Blacks, civvies, linens, whatever they have.”

Tup let out a sigh of relief and the tension seeped from his shoulders. “Thank you, sir, really.”

Waving the away the thanks, Rex rose to his feet, Tup rushing to follow. “You did a noble thing. The galaxy isn’t always understanding of our kind, particularly in places like Coruscant. You’re going to hear a lot of disparaging things from a lot of ungrateful people, and while I wish I could change the way things are, we just have to endure and hope things get better with time. That being said, if something like this happens again, I won’t be as lenient.” Rex started towards the door and Tup followed him out. Rex patted him across the shoulder and smiled kindly. “You’re a good kid, Tup. Wanting to defend others is a good trait to have. Just make sure you look out for yourself too, alright?”

“Of course, sir,” Tup replied inclining his head respectfully, eyes shifting away in embarrassment.

Tup waited in silence as Rex put in the code to lock his office door. When he turned back towards the corridor, Rex took a moment to really look at Tup and felt a weight settle deep in his stomach. One day, the youth would be wiped from his face and the innocence from his ideals. Rex could have wept because one way or another, either through cruelty or a blaster bolt, the war would take him too, and there was nothing he do to stop it.

***

The durasteel door was mocking him. Drab gray and scratched from constantly sliding out of its wall pocket a little unevenly, it looked no different than any other door on the _Resolute._ It would even be exactly identical to Rex’s office door down the corridor if not for the plaque fixed to it that read ‘General A. Skywalker.’

The 501st’s leave time on Coruscant was nearly over. The comm to return to the ship came exactly 10 days after they landed, startling troopers all over the city as the chime from their comms rang loudly through the bars and shops they found themselves in. As soon as he had hit the ‘Send’ button on his data pad earlier that day, Rex thought he could hear the collective sigh of the battalion all the way from his office.

Standing outside Anakin’s office in his soft-shell gray uniform, Rex brought his hand up to ring the door chime and lowered it before he could. He repeated the action a couple more times, feeling ever more judged by the door. Rex shook his shoulders a couple times and huffed out a few harsh breaths before raising his hand again when the door slid open without any provocation.

Rex took a startled step back, making eye contact with Anakin as he did.

“Anything I can help you with, Rex? Or would you prefer to stand outside my door a little longer?” Anakin asked, eyebrow raised teasingly.

“Uh, General, sir. I was needing to talk to you if you have the time, sir,” Rex rushed out.

“Okay?” Anakin responded, leading them into the office. “What is this about? I mean, you’re practically radiating nervous energy in the Force.”

“It’s nothing really, sir.” _Except the most life changing thing that has ever happened to me,_ he thought sullenly, dropping down into a chair across from Anakin’s cluttered desk.

Anakin huffed skeptically, taking a seat in his own chair. “Really? Since when do you call me General outside of a campaign? I thought my nickname was _mir’sheb._ Or what was that other one? Oh, yeah! _Di’kut._ Although I think I earned that one honestly,” he teased, leaning back in his chair.

Rex rubbed his sweaty palms against his thighs, letting out a weak laugh without looking up. “I still can’t believe you let me get by with that. I had no clue you knew Mando’a.”

“It’s a personal favorite of Obi-Wan’s,” Anakin explained, sitting up straighter in his seat to settle his hands on top of his desk when Rex didn’t take the bait of his teasing. “I’ve known you a long time, Rex. What’s going on?”

Rex straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin before addressing Anakin. “There’s been an incident with a trooper that needs to be brought to your attention, sir. I’m afraid it’s out the scope of what I can handle on my own.”

“Go on. Who is this about?”

Rex squeezed his hands together in his lap to stave off their shaking. “This is about me, sir.”

Anakin’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You? What could you have possibly done to warrant reporting yourself?”

His jaw was shaking when he opened his mouth to answer the General. “I wouldn’t say I’m reporting myself, as I technically haven’t broken any regulations. Rather, I’m requesting assistance for an unprecedented circumstance. You see, I found out I’m expecting, sir, and I’m not sure how to proceed.”

“Expecting. As in…”

“I’m pregnant. Fives and I are having a baby.”

Anakin didn’t say anything for a long moment, face not even twitching from its even mask. Rex was reminded vaguely of a datapad that was struggling to load.

“You know. Let’s call Obi-Wan. This feels like an Obi-Wan situation,” Anakin finally said, sounding far away and a little out of his depth. “You should comm Fives to get down here. This is probably going to be a long conversation.”

***

Fives met Rex in a small, abandoned meeting room in the administrative wing. He was also dressed in his stiff dress uniform, shoulders pulled back to raise him to his full height.

“So,” Fives started as the door slid shut behind him, “I assume that went well.”

Rex huffed a laugh and pushed himself away from where he was leaned against the wall. “Yeah, about as well as you could’ve expected. You should’ve seen the poor man. You would have thought I told him I was defecting to the Seppies. He commed General Kenobi for help. He’ll be here with Cody soon.”

Coming to stand next to Rex, Fives slipped an arm around his waist. “Probably for the best. You know how his plans are. How are you feeling, _cyare_?”

Rex let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping with the breath. He turned in Fives’s grasp to face him. “I-I trust them, Fives. We can’t do this on our own, and I know none of them would do anything to put us in danger. Hell, Cody probably spilled his guts to Obi-Wan the second he got back to their room at the beginning of leave. But I don’t know where we go from here.” Rex grasped at the back of Fives’s neck. “I told you that after we made this decision, everything would change. I didn’t mean my habits or clothes or sleep schedule. I meant this.”

Fives leaned in closer, ducking his head against Rex’s. “I know,” he whispered.

The pair jumped apart and snapped to attention at the sound of the door sliding open.

“Are we interrupting something?” Obi-Wan asked from the entryway

“No, sir,” they chimed out in unison.

Obi-Wan grimaced and waved away the formality. “Enough of that. It may be a bit more serious of a day than I thought it would be, but this certainly isn’t a battle field.”

“Of course, Obi-Wan,” Rex replied, allowing himself to slouch from his tensed stance.

“Now, it seems you may have broken my Padawan,” Obi-Wan started. Cody snorted a laugh next to him.

“That’s an understatement,” Cody exclaimed. “He was half stuttering on the comm. Thought you were going to have to give him the talk again there for a minute.”

“Mmm. I would hope not. Truthfully, I did that when he came back to Coruscant from Naboo married,” he replied pensively. “I don’t know how he didn’t think I would notice. I was afraid everything I had told him back when he was 12 had gone in one ear and out the other just like everything else I say. All the same, it seems to have worked considering he hasn’t made me a pseudo-grandfather yet. Although,” he said, turning his gaze towards Rex and Fives, “It seems Cody and I are due to be uncles again.”

They both looked away bashfully.

“Oh don’t start with that. I’m not here to reprimand you two. I hardly have any room to pass judgement,” Obi-Wan said. He surveyed the pair, matching flush staining their cheeks. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on Rex’s shoulder. “You’re not the first person to have a baby in a war zone,” he said softly. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Rex replied gratefully.

When Anakin finally walked in, he was careful to lock the door behind him. He cleared his throat after surveying the room. “Great, you’re all here.” He walked over to the little table in the middle of the room and took a seat, setting a datapad on the table in front of him. Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders and everyone followed suit.

“Admittedly, I could’ve handled that better,” Anakin started with a laugh. “But, we’re all here now, so let’s try this again.”

“No Ahsoka?” Rex asked.

“Not this time. I told her this was private and she would know when it was necessary.”

Rex felt some of the tension melt off of him. He loved Ahsoka. She was the little sister he had never wanted. But Rex suspected, even as far beyond her years as she was on the battlefield, this was a conversation she was still a bit young to have.

“Yes, I think there are some things we should clarify before making a game plan,” Obi-Wan agreed.

“Of course,” Rex responded. “Where would you like me to start?”

The Generals looked at each other, Obi-Wan nodding in deference to Anakin. “I assume you’ve been to Kix already?”

“He’s the one that told me when we were in route to Coruscant.”

“Good. I’ll talk to him next and see if there’s anything he needs extra shipments of,” he responded, making notes on his datapad. “Do you know how far along you are?”

“About 20 weeks now,” Rex replied, unable to stop the smile that turned up the corners of his lips despite the fear in his chest. He brushed a hand gently across the little bump barely hidden by his unforgiving dress uniform.

It was Obi-Wan that spoke next. “You’ll be needing new standard issue clothes very soon then.” He said, looking pointedly at where Rex’s hand disappeared beneath the table.

“The sooner the better at this point, if I’m honest.”

“We can do that,” Anakin answered, nodding his head. “If we make the right calls today we might be able to get those in before we leave the surface. If not, probably when the shipments come in after the next campaign. Is there anything you need that you haven’t been able to get during leave?”

“Nothing I can think of.”

“Good,” Obi-Wan said kindly. “Let us know if that changes. Now, unfortunately this isn’t a family meeting, so I’m afraid we need to discuss the logistics of things.”

Rex bit his bottom lip and looked down towards his lap, the little spark of excitement he had felt falling away in an instant. Fives’s sat his hand on Rex’s thigh and rubbed his thumb across it comfortingly.

“Rex?” Anakin called softly.

“Apologies,” he sniffed. Looking back up and praying to the _Manda_ that his eyes weren’t as red-rimmed as he feared. “That’s been happening a lot more often.”

“No, you’re fine. It’s just- What’s on your mind?” Anakin asked gently, brow furrowing in confusion.

“Kriff,” Rex said in frustration, looking up at the ceiling to stave off the tears he knew were coming. “I told myself before I came here that I wouldn’t do this.”

“It really is quite all right,” Obi-Wan replied. “I cried all the time with Korkie. My master at the time almost didn’t know what to do with me. It’s infuriating, to be sure. But no one here is going to think any less of you for it.”

“Thank you,” he rasped, wiping quickly at the corners of his eyes. “It’s- Well- Honestly any way I try to say this is going to sound bad.” He blew out a rough breath before speaking again. “I’m afraid of what happens next. I mean, we’re both really thrilled,” Fives nodded, the corners of his lips tilting up. “But I don’t know what this means for me. For us, really.”

Obi-Wan looked at him seriously and leaned in close. “I assure you, you have no reason to fear the Jedi in this. Truthfully, when we tell the council you may actually get a genuine smile out of Master Windu,” he joked.

“It’s not the Jedi we don’t trust,” Fives chimed in, having not spoken since Anakin entered the room. “It’s the _Kaminiise_.”

Anakin was visibly taken aback, leaning back to recline in his seat. “What do they have to do with this?”

Rex and Fives looked at each other, silently debating how best to explain. Fives decided to answer for them both. “We’re edging into dangerous territory, Generals. I’m not sure you’re going to like anything we have to say from here.” From where he was sitting, Rex watched Cody shut his eyes and take a steadying breath.

Obi-Wan knew there was something much larger at play here. Something maybe only the millions of troopers could understand. “Try us,” he pleaded.

“They won’t be forgiving of this,” Rex said finally, finding his strength in his rage that had built up over a lifetime. “They’ve never much cared for individuality. Thousands of clones across the entire military presented unexpectedly and they only let that go because they were the ones that karked up the cloning process in the first place. Even then, it was the good will of the Jedi that saved us from them when that happened. Now, from what we’ve heard from the ARC and Alpha troopers still on Kamino, General Ti is the only thing standing between mutie clones and decommissioning when they step one toe out of line. I’ve found the line and vaulted it, and they’ve been looking for a reason to get rid of me since I was 4 years old and got a concussion during a training accident. It took Jango Fett himself to stop that from happening. I don’t believe for a second they won’t try to take advantage of this. If they decide this is too much and I’m shipped back to Kamino, I’ll likely never leave it again. At the very least they’ll keep me around long enough to find out what happens when two clones make a baby. That’s if their curiosity lasts that long.”

“We’re not going to let that happen, Rex. You and every single one of the other troopers matter more than that!” Anakin declared.

“Maybe to you,” Cody said quietly. Obi-Wan looked at him with sad eyes. “They’re not alone in their thinking. All of us clones have spent our lives living in fear of what the _Kaminiise_ could do to us if we step out of line. Sure, we try to live our lives. Get married, find a family, hope we make it back to the ship at the end of each campaign. But one of the first things Alpha taught our batch was to stay out of their way. Never give them a reason to get rid of us because they were always looking for one.”

“This is about as independent as I could have gotten,” Rex added quietly. “I want to have my baby, and I’m going to. But I’m afraid of what I’ll have to sacrifice to do it.”

Obi-Wan raised a hand to his chin, rubbing across his beard as he thought. “I can’t say this will be without sacrifice, but I promise that we will find a way. You are right about the Jedi and what we can and can’t do. While, by virtue of our positions in the GAR, we have some control over how troopers are handled, the Kamino scientists still have an unfortunate amount of power in our dealings. It seems we’ll simply have to go above them with the matter.”

“What do you mean?” Fives asked. “Because if you’re talking about the Jedi Council, I don’t see how they’re going to be able to stop them either.”

“Of course, I’ll likely call a meeting with the council when we leave here simply because they do need to know about the circumstance. But I’m not naive enough to believe they should be our only line of defense.”

“You want to bring the Chancellor into it,” Anakin said impressed.

“Well I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t. He is a very busy man, but this is a matter that will need to be brought to his attention eventually anyway. You’re one of the highest ranking troopers in the entirety of the GAR, Rex” Obi-Wan said. “And with your position in a battalion as prominent as the 501st, the Chancellor would be your next highest commanding officer after Ahsoka, Anakin, Cody, and myself.”

Rex leaned forward and rested his elbows against the table, clasping his hands in front of himself. “Let me get this straight,” he started. “You want to bypass the Kaminoans’ authority by going directly to the Chancellor and hope he doesn’t tell you your only option is to send me back in my packaging?”

It was Cody that spoke up again. “That could work. We may have been commissioned by the Jedi, but we belong to the Republic.”

Anakin huffed angrily. “Belong to,” he spit under his breath, although the harsh whisper carried across the table in the quiet room. “I don’t give a kriff who you _belong to_ ,” he emphasized. “Really, I don’t give a kriff what the Kaminoans think either. A lot of really good men have suffered because of their shortsightedness. I don’t care what the rest of the GAR or the scientists or even the Republic as a whole think. The Chancellor is a good man and I know he won’t let them do anything to you. He’s the most powerful man in the Republic. At the very least, he could have a suggestion. You just need to trust him.”

Rex couldn’t say that he did. Maybe he was cynical or had seen too much war and sadness and corruption, but he would never believe in the integrity of a man with as much power as Chancellor Palpatine.

But Rex did trust Anakin Skywalker, as much as he trusted Fox to catch him before he fell, or he trusted Fives to remind him of the names of the remembrances he forgot.

“So, what do you say, Rex?”

***

It took hours to load all of the supplies they would need for an extended period in the Outer Rim onto the _Resolute,_ even with entire companies working to move everything to where it needed to go.

_I’m afraid there’s not much I can do._

Rex counted, checked, and recounted every single crate that passed the doors of the loading dock. Then Appo checked again.

_Not even I have the power to make these kinds of decisions._

It was tedious work, but he was grateful for the monotony of it. Besides, every ration pack he came across was another mouth he was able to feed, and that was comfort enough.

_As you know, the clones do not hold any rights in the eyes of the Republic._

The ship was more alive than it had been in months. As he made his way through the crowded corridors, nodding his head in greeting to the rushing engineers and flight crew, Rex thought the air felt lighter than it had since the Citadel. As if good things were finally to come.

_For me to undermine that, even as Chancellor, would be an insult to the institution of Democracy itself._

After just over two weeks reprieve, Rex again found himself flanking Anakin to the right on the bridge, Ahsoka on her Master’s left. The utility belt he wore over his thick plastoid armor was tighter than it used to be, but the weight of his kama falling over his hips was a comfort all the same.

_However, as long as your Captain is able to perform his duties to the best of his ability, I can assure you no harm will come to him, or his child._

From his spot nearest the viewport, Anakin took a deep breath, becoming every bit the General he had to be. “Alright men, our new orders have come in from command,” he said, looking down at the datapad in his hands.

_Unfortunately, this is the greatest comfort I can offer you in these circumstances._

Despite the calm that pervaded the ship, Rex still couldn’t rid himself of the uneasy feeling he had woken up with that morning. Maybe it was the smell of caff someone had brought to their station, or the uncertainty that awaited him and his baby on the other side of the galaxy, but nausea settled thick in Rex’s stomach, threatening to climb up the back of his throat.

_My dear boy, I truly am very sorry I could not be of more help to you._

“Set a course to the Umbara System.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:
> 
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> ad'ika- little one  
> ik'aad- baby  
> cyare- beloved  
> ori’vod- big brother  
> shebs- backside, rear, buttocks  
> vod- brother, comrade, “mate”  
> mir'sheb- smartass  
> di'kut- idiot  
> Manda- the collective soul or heaven- supreme, overarching, guardian-like  
> Kaminiise- Kaminoans


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have been gone for just over an entire month! Now, I cannot say I am terribly proud of my absence, but I have finished my senior thesis! I certainly hope this chapter was worth the wait and the anticipation. I have big things planned from here!
> 
> If you're reading this now I'm going to assume you enjoy clonecest. If you do not, I am sorry to say you are incredibly lost, my friend. For everyone that does enjoy it and would love to be in a community of us who enjoy it, I invite you to join the Clone Haven Discord Server! The link I posted below should be good for quite some time so come and see us whenever you want! 
> 
> https://discord.gg/RBpcVNsaDH

It took nearly a week for Rex to be released from the medbay after the Battle of Saleucami. The shot that barely missed his heart had seared the skin through and through, and left a painful ache in his lungs when he breathed. Those first few days were agony, and he found himself shuddering in pain with every move he made. He relied on Fives a lot during it. Everything was a miserable test of endurance. Nearly every attempt to turn over in bed, get up to use the ‘fresher, even to eat the protein broth he was allowed for meals was met with Fives’s gentle touch that somehow always took the pain away.

Even still, Rex spent many long, sleepless nights staring at the ceiling of his tiny recovery room, kept company by the steady beeping of the monitors he was attached to and Fives’s even breathing when the exhaustion would finally catch up to him and he would fall asleep awkwardly in a chair by Rex’s bedside. Rex had told him more than once that it wasn’t worth the back pain. Fives never seemed to have heard him.

Some nights though, those even, comforting breaths would morph and change the longer Rex listened to them. They would whisper about the memory of treasonous words that sat heavy in the air and struck panic down Rex’s spine.

After Saleucami, the memory of Cut Lawquane kept Rex awake well into the early morning.

Of course, Rex would never admit it, but there were even some days after the medbay when he thought he could almost hear the distinctive Outer Rim lilt of Cut’s voice in the back of his mind. At first, he was loathe to give the man that kind of power over him, resenting how he began to question the way of the war, the orders he gave, the deaths he faced. He would push all thoughts of Saleucami as far from his mind as he possibly could and prayed that the doubt would disappear with them.

It never went away for long.

***

_“Can I ask you something, Rex” Cut asked him quietly. The entire family with the addition of Rex was hunkered down in the living room after the run in with Separatist droids. Suu and the kids had long since fallen asleep huddled together in a pile of blankets on the mattress that had been dragged from upstairs. The cobbled together farmhouse was in tatters around them. The Commando Droids had wrecked havoc on the little building and it would likely take weeks of dedicated work to fix it all again. Even with all of the droid parts removed from the home and flung into a pile out of sight of the busted down doors, it was hard to feel safe as the breeze blowed in through the cracks that couldn’t be covered with sheets hastily tacked to the wall. Rex was sat back to back with Cut in the center of the living space, each watching a door with blasters in their hands when Cut had spoken._

_“I’m an open book,” Rex replied sarcastically._

_Cut snorted and although Rex couldn’t see him, he was positive the other man had rolled his eyes playfully. “Seriously,_ vod, _I’m curious. Have you really never thought past the war? Imaged what life could be like without having to fight every kriffing day?”_

_Rex sighed, allowing his gaze to drop from the door for a short moment as he thought. “Yeah, Cut, I’ve thought about it before. I would never leave the GAR, not with as many troopers I have to care for. I’ve learned the Republic doesn’t give us a second thought most days, so it’s my job to make sure someone’s keeping an eye out for them. But I’ve wondered what could come after it all ends.”_

_“Really?” Cut asked impressed, turning in his seat to glance at Rex before resuming his post at the door. “And what have you come to?”_

_“You were right. Earlier, when you said you see how I look at your family. For right now, my home is on a battleship, but I sometimes hope that maybe one day when the fighting is all over, us troopers will be allowed to leave it all in the past. Find a life, have a family. I’m not programmed like you think. I believe in this war and I believe in the Jedi. I just hope that someday I’m allowed to freely believe in something, or someone, else.”_

_Cut let out a slow breath. “‘Freely believe?’” He questioned. “So who is that someone else then?”_

_Rex huffed out a surprised laugh. “Yeah, figures you would catch that. I have a_ riduur’ika _waiting for me in my battalion. His name is Fives. He’s still a little shiny around the edges. Picked him and his brother up as strays off one of the bases surrounding Kamino that got blown to pieces. Truthfully, we’ve only been together a few months, but I wonder sometimes what our lives could be like when this is all over.”_

_“Well I have a new question then, Rex.”_

_“Shoot.”_

_“What’s stopping you from being devoted to the war effort and Fives? I mean I know the regs about civilian relationships and marriage and all of that, but not even the_ Kaminiise _cared too much about relationships between clones,” Cut said gently, as if finally afraid of overstepping his bounds._

_Rex quirked a brow curiously although Cut couldn’t see him. “You said you ran sometime after Geonosis. Did you ever make it to Coruscant while in the corps?”_

_“No. Wasn’t in for that long.”_

_He hummed in understanding. “It’s not about any regs. Things are just different there than they are in the battalions or on Kamino. They’re less tolerant of our kind. I_ am _devoted to Fives, but that has to stay in the dark. I can’t imagine what they would do if anyone that mattered found out about clone relationships.”_

 _“That’s ridiculous,” Cut exclaimed. He hissed and watched his family for movement before speaking softer. “What clone_ didn’t _lose it to another clone? I don’t see how that’s all some big secret. It’s not like we had many options in the middle of the kriffing ocean.”_

_Rex huffed out a laugh at his outburst. “Oh I know. I live it. I know plenty of married or dating troopers. Just can’t upset that delicate Coruscanti sensibility.”_

_“No, we wouldn’t want that,” Cut replied and the world fell silent again._

_They sat quietly for a while, allowing the cool air of Saleucami to brush past them. Even with the war, everything was simpler in the Outer Rim. No one cared about the life of a clone no matter where they looked in the galaxy, but their insignificance felt more important away from the Core._

_“I-I presented as an omega a few months ago,” Rex admitted eventually. “I’m still trying to figure out what that means for me, or really for the GAR as a whole because I’m not alone. We’re not all betas like the_ Kaminiise _thought we would be. Even as a beta though, you should know that the trainers were wrong. Most of us can have kids.”_

_“That’s definitely good to know,” Cut answered hesitantly. “There’s not a lot of birth control in the Outer Rim, but I’ll make sure Suu knows.”_

_“Good. At least it won’t be too much of a surprise if anything happens,” Rex said. He exhaled roughly and spoke again. “I don’t really know why I’m admitting all of this to you. I mean I’m leaving tomorrow and I likely won’t be back, so I guess this a confession of sorts.”_

_“Nothing you say ever has to leave this room,” Cut replied, careful not to move a muscle so as not to scare Rex away._

_“I believe in the war because I believe in the good in the Republic, even if they don’t always understand. But really I_ am _fighting for my children. I’ll likely marry Fives, make him my mate. I’d like to have a baby some day in a galaxy that is kinder than the one we inherited. Past the oath I took, it is my responsibility to change it for the others like me.”_

_“That’s a noble idea, Rex, genuinely. The galaxy needs more men like you in it. I would probably even say it’s a selfless way of thinking,” Cut replied. “At risk of making you dislike me even more though, what if you don’t have the opportunity to change it before that day comes?”_

_Rex felt a pit form in his chest at Cut’s words. “What do you mean?” He asked reluctantly._

_“I really am just curious about how you think,_ vod _. So theoretically, if you found yourself with the war still raging around you and an_ ik’aad _well on the way, what would you do?”_

_“I hope it never comes to that, Cut. That’s a lot more than being caught between a rock and a hard place,” Rex replied a little breathlessly._

_“I understand. I don’t mean to upset you, honest. It’s just that war forces good people to make a lot of hard choices. I know you don’t agree with mine. But I can’t help but wonder, as a good man, how far would you be willing to go in service to the Republic?”_

***

Umbara was a blood bath.

The moment their boots hit the ground they were engulfed in enemy fire, troopers dropping to the ground dead only seconds after jumping off the gunship. Rex didn’t give himself the opportunity to see who fell and who kept running. All he was aware of was his own boots slamming roughly into the sticky mud, Fives running to his right, and Anakin and Ahsoka’s lightsabers flashing dangerously through the eternal night. The rest was just screams ringing meaninglessly at the back of his mind.

The bolts flying past his bucket were dizzying. He had to force his eyes to stay focused on his path to avoiding listing too far to one side in the confusion. Once they made it off the open battle field and into the temporary safety of the trenches, lights still flashed behind his eyes when he closed them for too long. Rex would not soon forget the terror that met him on the surface of Umbara.

But then they made it past the first line of Umbaran defenses, and there was little to no threat of another platoon coming up to flank them, and they were finally allowed a well deserved breath before the next wave.

That was when General Pong Krell landed. He was massive, even for a besalisk. Walking toward them, backlit by the lights of the gunship, he was a giant sulking shadow among the oppressive darkness of Umbara. Rex felt his skin prickle at the sight of him. Krell was unlike any Jedi Rex had ever seen what with his hard, no nonsense demeanor and the most vicious track record Rex had ever seen. The man was incredibly good at his job, winning battles with an efficiency to be admired. Even still, there were the _stories_. Among the Republic, Krell was recognized as a war hero. Among the highest ranked clones of the GAR, he was the story they told shinies to keep them in line. Pong Krell won nearly even battle he had ever participated in. He returned from most of them alone, entire companies wiped out before the uncaring eyes of the Senate. _He always wins_ , Wolffe had told him quietly across the comms after an entire company from the 104th was lost under General Krell. _No one ever asks what it cost._

Rex’s stomach twisted into knots and he had to swallow down the bile that rose up his throat at the sight of the man. He reached out for Anakin before the monster in the dark could get any closer, feeling the sleeve of the General’s robes slip past his fingers a moment too late.

“Master Krell,” Anakin called once he was within speaking distance of Krell, “my thanks for the air support.”

“Indeed, General Skywalker,” Krell replied. “The locals have proven to be more resourceful than we anticipated.”

Anakin inspected Krell closely before speaking again. “But that’s not the reason for your visit.”

Krell shook his head sympathetically. “No. The council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effectively immediately.”

“What?” Anakin asked outraged. “They want me to leave my battalion in the middle of a campaign? Wh-why?”

“I’m afraid a request was made by the Supreme Chancellor, and the Council obliged. That is all they would tell me,” Krell responded, inclining his head kindly towards Anakin, ignoring Rex and Ahsoka entirely. “I know it pains you to leave them behind during such a significant battle, but the Chancellor is partial to you. What he asks for must go. But not to worry, Skywalker. I will be taking over in the interim.”

Rex took a steadying breath and stepped closer to where Anakin was floundering for an excuse. No matter the ghost stories he had heard, he wouldn’t settle that guilt on his friend and send him helplessly across the galaxy. “Don’t worry about a thing, sir,” he started, the words leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. “We’ll have this city under Republic control by the time you’re back.”

Anakin nodded his head a couple times, as if trying to force himself to believe the words. “Of course you will,” he responded. Anakin gripped Rex’s shoulder and turned back towards Krell. “Master Krell, this is my Battalion Captain, Rex, my second in command after Padawan Tano. He maintains the order over the men. You won’t find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere.”

Krell looked Rex over before answering, not taking his eyes off the trooper. “Good to hear that. I wish you and Padawan Tano well.”

“Oh, Ahsoka will remain here with the men,” Anakin replied, staring at Krell until he made eye contact again. “In the circumstances, I think she would do well to keep the peace so to speak. It has been a rough campaign. I’d like to keep a familiar face around in my absence.”

“I don’t typically make it a habit to take on someone else’s Padawan, Skywalker.”

Anakin smiled, although it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “That’s completely understandable, Master. That is why she will remain here in her capacity as Commander over the battalion. She is very familiar with the battle strategies I worked out with Master Kenobi. I assure you she will be fine without guidance this once.”

Krell narrowed his already squinted eyes. “If you insist. I wish you safe travels.”

“Thank you. Now, if you don’t mind I would like to speak with Rex and Ahsoka before I leave,” Anakin said, gesturing for the two to follow him towards the gunship, leaving Krell without a response. “I will be back as soon as I can,” he said urgently. “Just stick to our plans and everything will be just fine.”

Ahsoka shifted her weight on her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. “What is this about, Master?” She asked.

Anakin looked over at Rex, holding eye contact for a moment before turning back towards Ahsoka. “I trust General Krell to do what is necessary to take back the planet,” he said carefully. “I am trusting you both to look out for the wellbeing of the men.”

Rex’s eyes widened and he leaned in closer. “You’ve heard to stories too?” He whispered.

“I’m lost here. What is wrong?” Ahsoka asked, exasperated.

Rubbing a hand down his face, Anakin sighed wearily. “General Krell is an accomplished tactician. Just be sure to look out for everyone even if he overlooks them,” he replied, reaching up to climb into the ship. “And Rex?” He called down.

“Yes?”

Anakin looked off into the distance at the battalion he was leaving behind. “No matter the stakes, always make sure it’s worth it.”

And with those parting words, the gunship lifted off, disappearing into the heavy cloud cover.

“What is that supposed to mean? “ Ahsoka asked.

“I hope we don’t find out.”

General Krell was standing stoically at the edge of the makeshift camp with his hands held loosely behind his back when Ahsoka and Rex approached him again. Troopers were flittering about all over gathering supplies and organizing transport for the next leg of the mission, some stopping to glance curiously at the hulking figuring inspecting them. Rex sent out a plea to the universe that no one would be curious enough to stop and have a conversation.

“General Krell.” Rex said when they reached him. “It’s an honor to serve with you, sir. Your reputation precedes you.”

Krell hummed low in his chest in acknowledgment, still facing away from them. “Tell me, Captain, do you make it a habit to speak before your betters?”

“I-I don’t understand, sir.”

“Stand at attention when I address you,” Krell snapped, finally turning to speak to them directly. His forked tongue poked out between his lips as he scented the air.

Rex pulled his spine straight and made eye contact with Krell as the Jedi continued speaking. “While I find it very interesting, Captain, that you are able to recognize the value of honor, for a clone, you will not be rewarded for flattery. My command is so effective because I do things by the book, starting with battalion standing. Now, as I see it, you have spoken over your Jedi Commander as a clone. Even more, you have spoken before your _alpha_ Jedi Commander as an _omega_ clone, and that sort of disrespect will not be tolerated under my command. Do I make myself clear, Captain?

“Yes, sir,” Rex spit, itching to grasp protectively at the too tight belt around his middle.

“General Krell, if I may-“ Ahsoka started.

“You may not. We are behind schedule as it is. Have all platoons ready to move out immediately. That is all,” Krell replied flippantly, making his way further into camp, leaving Rex and Ahsoka standing shell shocked in his wake.

Ahsoka turned towards Rex with wide eyes. “What just happened?” She asked quietly.

Rex glanced off towards the ground, mouth set angrily. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Turning to face Ahsoka he answered. “General Krell just happened.”

***

The gloom of Umbara was heavy, settling over the troopers like a shroud. They had been marching for hours through the dark, led only but the light of the florescent wildlife around them. Rex felt a ping in his chest rounding each curve of the long, winding path, always anticipating the next thing to fly out at them. The native fauna were pretty kriffing frustrating. Everything around them was vicious and ready to kill them at a moment’s notice, and Krell was utterly indifferent to their plight.

Rex was used to long hauls on campaigns, long since accustomed to the feeling of blisters forming around his ankles where his worn out boots rubbed unevenly. This was different. Krell powered through the underbrush with a detached sort of indifference that Rex had never seen from a general before. After 12 solid hours of trekking through the underbrush, he was starting to feel as if he was being dragged along by will alone.

“Rex,” Kix called quietly from behind him.

“Hmm?” He responded, turning from where he was subtly braced against Fives’s side, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with him.

Kix hustled up from his spot in-between Jesse and Hardcase. “Rex, it’s been 12 hours now. All of the men are getting worn down, and you could use a rest at this point too. We should stop, take some time to eat something before we keep going towards the city.”

Rex nodded his head a couple times, letting out an exhausted sigh. “Yeah, let me grab the Commander.” He walked up to where Ahsoka was following dutifully behind Krell, having already been reprimanded once for being so casual with the men while on a campaign. Matching stride with her, Rex started to speak before she cut him off.

“I heard him,” Ahsoka said quietly. She cleared her throat and straightened her spine, Rex falling behind her and slamming to attention. “General Krell?” She called.

Krell stopped abruptly, turning towards Ahsoka with a stern look. “What is it, Padawan?”

Not being one to back down when she knew she should, Ahsoka raised herself to her full height, desperately trying to stand up to the General. “I’m ordering the men to stop at this ridge up ahead to make camp for the rest of the night cycle,” she informed him.

“That sounds more like a demand than a question,” Krell replied cooly.

“Nothing so harsh,” she said evenly. “I’m simply informing you. We’ve been traveling for too long. The men need rest and a meal if we expect them to go ahead with the strike teams in a few hours.”

“The men don’t need rest,” the General spat at her. “They need the resolve to complete the task at hand. No amount of rest will fix anything.”

“Sir, if I may-” Rex said, stepping forward to stand at Ahsoka’s right.

“Again, you may not.”

Rex’s brow furrowed as he stared at General Krell. “Sir,” he continued, “I don’t see any way the men will be able to attempt any sort of battle if we maintain our current pace.”

Krell steeped forward abruptly, crowding in to Rex’s personal space. “What did I say about speaking out of turn, CT-7567?”

“Excuse me, sir?” Rex questioned, taking a quick step back.

“I asked you a question. I expect an answer. Or is that beyond you, clone?” Krell replied dangerously, taking what little ground Rex had given him. “Now, what did I say about speaking out of turn?”

Rex’s head swam with the feeling of danger, stomach flipping anxiously with every warm breath of Krell’s that fogged the visor of his helmet. He was too close, too loud, too much of a threat. The edges of his vision turned fogging and vague. “T-to not speak before those above me, sir,” he replied finally, cursing himself viciously for letting Krell get the better of him.

“General Krell,” Ahsoka called from behind them. “The terrain is extremely hostile but we have still managed to make amazing time. The men deserve a rest!”

Krell’s gaze was cold but Ahsoka stood unwavering under it. Rex felt a spark of pride in his rolling stomach watching his little one stand up to the man.

“Padawan Tano,” Krell said evenly, regaining some of the composure he had lost with Rex. “I don’t feel that you should need reminding of the this battalion’s importance in the conquering of this planet, but seeing as you continue to question my authority, it seems you may need it. Their mission is to take this city and take it swiftly. Rest is not a luxury the Republic can afford. Without us, every other battalion on this planet fails. Am I understood?”

Ahsoka set her shoulders and met Krell’s gaze head on, the silence between them deafening in the unfamiliar forest. “Rex, send out an order to make camp at the ridge,” she yelled out, never once breaking eye contact.

Rex nodded professionally before turning back to Fives to signal the halt through the comms. He heard Ahsoka speak quietly to Krell again. “You may be in charge of this campaign, but this is still my battalion.”

Thankfully, no one commented on the tremor in Rex’s hands.

***

They stopped at the ridge, and Rex could almost feel the heat of anger rolling off General Krell as he watched them erect small tents and open ration packs. All around the little camp, the gloomy desolation of Umbara was brightened as the troopers came alive, talking animatedly with mouths full of food. Krell stood at the edge of camp and glared indeterminately from group to group gathered in circles on the cold hard ground, arms crossed stiffly across his chest. Rex couldn’t help but glance at him every few seconds, the hair on the back of his neck standing up every time Krell shifted his posture.

“Rex,” someone said, jerking him out of his head.

“Hmm?” He questioned softly. “Sorry I didn’t hear that.”

Ahsoka looked at him curiously, tilting her head to the side as she inspected him. “I asked if you were planning on standing there the whole time or if you wanted to join us down here for some food.”

“Yeah,” he responded, shaking himself out of his thoughts and moving to plop down next to Fives in the little circle on the ground. “Sorry about that. Just lost in thought.”

“Been a long day,” Kix mumbled from across the group. He was leaning heavily into Jesse’s side, taking slow bites of his ration bar, eyes closing dangerously each time he blinked.

“You can say that again,” Hardcase answered loudly, gesturing wildly with his own ration bar, the dry monstrosity crumbling at the end and dropping pieces of unknown protein to the ground. “What about you shiny?” He asked, elbowing a still bright eyed Tup in the side over into a grumbling Dogma.

Rex allowed himself to fade out of the conversation then as it devolved into playful jabs and wild stories to brighten the somber mood. Everything hurt in a way it hadn’t since he was a young cadet still on Kamino trying to complete both officer and ARC training. His muscles were tight from the ridiculous trek they had made through the unforgiving underbrush of Umbara’s florescent forest. His calves ached in waves, small spasm making their way up and down his legs to meet up with the blisters on his feet. His feet had been a little swollen when he forced his boots on the previous morning and they were loudly objecting to the extra space demanded of them. There was a throbbing ache in the back of his head from either the stress or the dehydration or the hunger that seemed to come and go more often than it used to. Rex had long since decided to ignore the pinch of his belt around his middle where it was just this side of way too tight to be comfortable.

His hands moved of their own accord as he ripped open the wrapper of his own painfully dry ration bar, hating the way it crumbled in his mouth as he bit down. The damn things tasted like dirt and disappointment and had the texture of sand, all while tasting like the air on Coruscant mixed with a mouth full of Kaminoan sea water. Washing it down with a gulp of warm water from the canteen on his hip, the entire cursed mixture settled heavy in his gut.

When he had finally finished the little bit of food, his stomach was still rolling uncomfortably, bouncing between starving and sick. He was staring sullenly down at the ground when Fives tapped on his right bracer. Rex looked up quickly, a flutter of excitement flying through his chest at the sight of the stark white bracer with the deep blue stripe Fives wore on his left arm, completely at odds with the rest of his armor. Rex grasped at his own left bracer, comforted by the grey and blue that stood out so much from the rest of him without even looking down at it.

Fives eyes crinkled at the corners kindly as he pressed a foil packet into Rex’s hand. He looked down and saw a half eaten ration bar waiting for him.

“Fives,” Rex whispered sternly. “I can’t take this. It’s been too long of a day for you to eat half a bar.”

He tried to push it back into Fives’s hand, but Fives slipped a a tablet into it instead and closed his fingers around everything. “You need it more than I do, _cyare_ ,” he replied softly.

Rex sighed and nodded his head in acquiescence, forcing himself to bite into the ration. He swallowed down the nutrient supplement Fives had given him with another gulp of warm water, leaning more of his weight into his _riduur’s_ side. He really was exhausted. It had been one of the more challenging days he had faced since the war began, and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep to the comforting sounds of the troopers around him talking and laughing, As he skimmed his eyes past the groups gathered around, he felt drawn to the far side of the camp. General Krell was staring off into the distance, set far off from the camp.

The hair on the back of Rex’s neck stood on end just looking at the General. As if sensing Rex’s stare, and maybe he had, Krell turned and made eye contact with him. Rex’s breath caught harshly and he stood up abruptly. Krell blinked once before turning away again and walking out of sight.

“Rex?” Fives asked.

“I-I need a few minutes,” he rushed out. His stomach was doing flips and bile was climbing up his throat no matter how hard he swallowed. He turned and made his way quickly through the underbrush until he could no longer hear the camp behind him.

Rex braced himself with a hand against a tree, breathing deeply to stave off the nausea. He coughed once and then twice before falling to his knees and vomiting.

He leaned back and caught his breath, the world spinning a bit from the strain, before his stomach turned again and he found himself losing even more of what little food he had forced down. When he finally sat back again, he could hear someone walking up behind him from the camp.

“I’m okay, Fives,” he choked out, grimacing at the taste in his mouth. “Just living the dream.”

“Not Fives,” the person answered.

Rex jerked upright, turning to face Ahsoka as her montrals poked through the brush before the rest of her followed. “Ahsoka!” He exclaimed.

“Don’t look so happy to see me, Rexter,” she replied, moving further into the clearing and offering him the water skein on from her hip.

He nodded at her and drank gratefully, swishing the water around before spitting it to the ground. “Always thrilled to see you, _ad’ika_. You just caught me off guard.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes playfully at the pet name before dropping to the ground next to him heedless of the mess a few feet away. She ran her hands through the unfamiliar plants beneath them, all the while biting at her bottom lip. “What’s going on, Rex?” Ahsoka finally asked quietly.

Rex watched her closely as she worked her jaw slowly back and forth. Her eyes were more sunken in than he had ever noticed. Maybe the shadows of the forest were playing across her features curiously, but she seemed weathered in a way he normally only saw on the faces of the oldest, most jaded troopers in the GAR. At only 16 years old, Ahsoka wore a weight around her shoulders that may never be lifted. Rex found himself resenting the war with an all consuming heat that he wished he was new.

“The war has taken a lot from too many good people. I’m afraid of what General Krell is willing to sacrifice to win back this rock,” he whispered in answer.

“He feels like the force on Coruscant,” Ahsoka replied, looking down towards the ground.

“What do you mean by that?”

Her eyes squinted as she thought. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, floundering for an answer. “Coruscant is… well, it’s heavy I guess. Even at the Temple. It’s like the Force is being drawn towards something and then it just… disappears. Coruscant is the only home I’ve ever known, but it feels easier to breathe in the Outer Rim. It’s easier to connect to the Force and to feel the living things around me.” Ahsoka paused to think, lifting a little stone with the Force and twirling it in the air. Like most things on Umbara, it was weirdly iridescent. It was small and perfectly round and it caught the sparse light around them and reflected it back, as if it was made up of a thousand tiny crystals. Rex was mesmerized as he watched her unconscious show of control. When it fell abruptly to land back in her hand, Ahsoka clutched her little stone in her fist and spoke again. “General Krell almost doesn’t seem to exist in the Force when I reach out. He’s there and I can feel that he’s there, but he’s cut off. Everything seems to move around him instead of with him.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe he’s just private. Maybe he takes detached to a whole new level,” she replied tossing the rock at Rex to catch. “We’ll just stick to the plans and let Krell be Krell.”

Rex snorted at her faux nonchalance, more than willing to allow her to lighten the mood. “Sounds like a plan then. Just take it by hour.”

They fell into silence as the wind whispered past their faces.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Ahsoka asked.

“You’ve always been intuitive,” Rex replied.

Ahsoka turned to face him fully and placed a hand on Fives’s bracer on Rex’s left arm. “I don’t mean to eaves drop, but you’ve been projecting into the Force. I’ve never known you to be so scared before. You’ve been cautious or angry or anxious, but I don’t remember a time when you have been scared. What’s different this time?”

“I planned on telling you when I settled into the idea more myself,” Rex mumbled. “I found out I’m having a baby, ‘Soka.”

Her eyes lit up instantly, igniting them with a spark Rex had missed seeing in her. Her lips twitched up, and it was as if her entire form raised up in excitement. Rex felt his heart break when the implication of his words settled on the weight the war had added to her shoulders and she sank back down from the elation she allowed herself to feel in that fleeting moment.

“You shouldn’t even be here,” she said quickly. “Why are you here? Surely Anakin wouldn’t force you into a campaign like this!”

“Hey, take a deep breath. Anakin didn’t do this, the Chancellor did. Even the Jedi have to answer to someone,” Rex explained, grasping at her hand that gripped his bracer hard.

“Bu-but I don’t understand why. This isn’t fair to you,” she said, brows drawing together in confusion. “What if something happens?”

“You know as well as I do that there is a lot happening that is unfair,” Rex told her gently.

Ahsoka let go of his arm, looking away in shame. “I know, Rex. It’s just… This is you,” she whispered.

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” he promised despite himself.

“I don’t like this, Rex. Umbara, Krell, even the Force feels wrong. We’ve seen battles before, but this one feels-“ she started.

“Different,” Rex finished.

They held each others’ gaze, but neither of them spoke another word.

When Rex made his way back towards camp with Ahsoka, it had mostly fallen silent. Barring the few troopers keeping watch and whispering amongst themselves, most everyone had settled into a tent to wait out the next few hours, whether sleep came to them or not. Rex ducked into the tent he was sharing with Fives to find his _riduur_ breathing evenly in sleep. After popping off the upper half of his armor and his boots, sure to arrange it all for easy access in an emergency, he crawled onto the stiff bedroll and settled into Fives’s side. Warm arms instinctively wrapped around him and pulled him closer to a firm chest. Rex settled his hand over Fives’s where it rested on the gentle swell of his stomach, and fell into a restless sleep.

***

Rex was blindsided.

“I’m sorry, General Krell. But I don’t understand,” Ahsoka said. “Master Skywalker planned to surprise the enemy with multiple attacks. If we come in from the main route, they’re nearly guaranteed to meet us with a full-frontal assault.”

“There has been a change of plans,” Krell replied impatiently, continuing his forward stride, forcing Rex and Ahsoka to follow quickly behind him. “We took a break at _your_ insistence and now we are vastly behind on our assault that is pivotal to winning this planet. You claim to be in charge of your men and I allowed you that. But that does not change that I am in command and I have the final say on strategy and battle plans.”

“What do you think, Rex?” Ahsoka questioned. She felt slimy directing him to speak, but she wouldn’t risk him because of her inability to comply with Krell’s outdated demands.

“Thank you, Commander,” Rex replied, nodding his head kindly and falling to attention when Krell turned to face them. “With all due respect, General, I think we would do well to stop and strategize. I understand the need for haste, but it might be wiser to think about our options first.”

Krell took a step forward and crossed his arms behind his back. Rex noticed out of the corner of his eye as Ahsoka subtly edged forward in front of him, lekku flushing with rage. He knocked a gentle hand against her arm to force her back from the threat she couldn’t make good on.

“Are you questioning my order?” Krell asked coldly.

“Certainly not, sir,” Rex replied, careful not to make direct eye contact. “I am merely suggesting that the three of us should sit down with my ARC Trooper to find the most efficient way to achieve our goal.”

“Let me make myself perfectly clear,” Krell started, voice low and dangerous. “I will not defer to anyone in this. If the clones need a nap, then Commander Tano is welcome to tuck them in. But I will not be taking advice from a clone. And if I were inclined to do so, it would not be from clones with such moral perversions as you and _your ARC Trooper.”_

Rex reared back as if he had been struck. In a way he had been. His mouth fell open as he floundered for some sort of response. He was resentful of his bucket hanging limply in his grasp for leaving him without any protection. Eventually he snapped his mouth shut so hard his teeth clicked together audibly, but he knew the shock was still settled firmly over his features.

“You will not question me, CT-7567,” Krell growled. “This battalion will take the main road straight to the capital. You will not stop and you will not turn back, regardless of the resistance you meet. We will attack them with all our troops, not some sneak attack with a few men. Regardless of what Knight Skywalker has led you both to believe, you are subordinates, and you will learn to respect your superiors! Do I make myself clear CT-7567?”

“Yes, General,” Rex replied, forcing his eyes forward to look past Krell.

“And you, Padawan?”

“Yes, sir,” Ahsoka answered shortly.

“Good. Now, engage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations:  
> riduur'ika- boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other  
> Kaminiise- Kaminoans  
> ik'aad- baby  
> cyare- beloved  
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> ad'ika- little one


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I hope this meets your expectations and then some! As things are beginning to escalate from here on, I just want to point out that my tags have very much not changed and I believe in happy endings, even if they take a while. Things may not always look very bright, but I will always be sure to tag any truly touchy subject matter. If the tags don't change, just trust the process and it'll all be okay in the end. 
> 
> I hope you have an amazing holiday! I'm excited to bring you more in the new year.

Even after the well deserved rest the night before, every step towards the capital made Rex’s body ache. No matter who he spoke to, what he concentrated on, or how much he ignored the screaming of his own limbs, he was still distantly aware of blood gathering in his boots from his worn through ankles and burst blisters.

He led the march with Fives, their platoon of troopers following close behind them. Even when Rex swallowed down his complaints and groans, his _riduur’s_ hand would brush away the pain in his lower back when it began to radiate up and down his spine. The travelled in relative silence, letting the chattering from the troopers behind them reach them at the front of the pack. Fives’s frustration rolled over him in waves, so much so Rex could almost taste it in the air every time Fives huffed in exasperation.

Spirits were low. Rex knew that. Even still, every pessimistic word that drifted up to meet him ached almost as much as the rest of him.

“So, does anyone know why we aren’t sticking to the original plan and probing the city defenses _before_ we walk through their front door and piss them off?” Jesse asked for the third time, as if the answer had somehow changed.

“Eh, don’t worry so much there, Jess” Hardcase replied. “We’re gonna walk right in, kick some ass, and walk right back out. We can take ‘em!” Rex almost admired his flippant optimism.

“Leave it to Hardcase to dive in head-first,” Tup said next.

Hardcase let out a boisterous laugh, and armor hit armor when he bumped into Tup playfully. “Lighten up, shiny. Yeah this is going to suck. The least I can do is laugh about it on the way.” That comment stung a little more than the rest. Rex could still hear the smile in Hardcase’s voice.

“The General’s new plan is reckless,” Fives spit, uncaring of who heard him.

“Fives,” Rex admonished quietly.

He glanced towards Rex and although he was wearing his bucket Rex could almost see the raised eyebrow thrown his way in challenge. Rex tossed his arm up in defeat and stubbornly faced forward.

“If the General was that confident in his plans, he would be right here marching with us. He even kept the Commander back at the rendezvous! Now why exactly do you think he would do that?” Fives asked, glancing over his shoulder to see the troopers behind them.

‘He’s not willing to risk a Jedi,’ Rex answered in his head.

Dogma, ever the gullible optimist responded, “You ever think that maybe the General knows what he is doing?”

Out of the corner of his eye Rex saw Fives’s head shift just enough to indicate he was rolling his eyes. Rex was inclined to do so too. Dogma was a good kid with good intentions, and a fierce loyalty to authority to be admired. He was everything the Kaminoans ever could’ve hoped for in a clone. In the short period he had spent with the 501st, Dogma had been politely distant with everyone but Tup, and he mostly kept to himself and his own hobbies. A long time ago, Rex had been him. Fiercely determined and optimistic and willing to put all his faith in the war. But that was before the relentless battles had scarred his skin and the countless deaths had scarred his heart and thin, white lines began to form at the edges of his swollen belly. Rex could only hope that Dogma’s lessons would be easier to learn than his own were.

“I know you think this is a bad idea. You have to,” Fives said to Rex, ignoring Dogma entirely.

Rex sighed, shaking his head. “Ahsoka and I did what we could. I even offered to bring you in on it so we could all find a compromise. General Krell refused. So, this is it.”

“There’s got to be more to it than that. I know you, _cyare._ What’s going on?” Fives asked softly so the others arguing behind them wouldn’t hear.

“It doesn’t matter right now, Fives. We have to stay alert and it can wait.” Rex’s heart pounded painfully in his chest just thinking about what Krell had said.

Fives grasped his upper arm and Rex finally turned his head to face him. “It matters if it can stop this from happening,” he whispered, low enough it was barely picked up by the vocoder in his helmet.

“It won’t.”

The first mine exploded then and the whole world faded out of focus in a sickly shade of green.

Without a moment to so much as catch their breaths, Rex and Fives were thrown forward by the power of the second blast. The impact with the pavement took the air from Rex’s lungs, and he laid there with his hands braced under him until he could breathe again.

“Mines!” He heard Fives yell. “Nobody move!” He had already made it back onto his feet while Rex was still struggling to his knees. Fives dropped down next to him and put a supportive hand on his back. “Are you okay?” He asked urgently.

Rex took a deep breath and let it out slowly, bringing a hand to cradle his stomach. “We’re okay. I caught myself,” he answered. Fives nodded but Rex could hear his harsh breathing even through his bucket. He took the hand he was offered and pulled himself up off the hard ground, surveying the damage.

“Who did we lose?” He asked.

“Ringo and Oz, sir,” someone called back.

The troopers that had been nearest the blast were covered in dirt and a sickly red shine was misted over parts of their armor. The men they had lost laid in unnatural heaps on the pavements. He couldn’t clearly see Oz, but Ringo was missing a leg and his bucket had caved inward at the temple. Rex’s stomach rolled at the sight and he looked away before the image could be burned into his eyelids permanently.

“Can you sweep for them, Fives?”

They were completely surrounded by the devices on all sides. They were lucky they hadn’t run into them sooner based on what Fives was showing him. Every forward step was gamble as they did their best to follow closely on Five’s path. Truthfully, the mines didn’t matter much after the first plasma blast slammed into the ground. Even less so as the Umbarans flooded the streets and the world was illuminated in a kaleidoscope of blue and green blaster bolts.

“We’re completely exposed!”

“They’re coming in from all sides!”

“There’re too many of them!”

The world faded into silence for Rex as he focused on each shot he left off landing true. “Hold your ground!”

Plasma struck the ground from tanks hidden in the shadows, sending shockwaves through the pavement that rattled Rex’s teeth. For every Umbaran he took down, another three ran in to take their place. Even Hardcase, firing like mad with a precision to be admired, was hardly making a dent in the maelstrom.

Rex had been in plenty of firefights in his time with the GAR, but he had never seen his troopers have to fight as viciously as they did then. He watched as Fives bodily took down soldiers gaining too much ground and trooper after trooper after trooper fell from their posts dead.

_You will not stop and you will not turn back, regardless of the resistance you meet._

Another blaster bolt whipped past his head and he took down an Umbaran coming up into Fives’s blind spot. Dogma put a blaster bolt through the head of one that had lost their blaster and had tried to grab Tup from behind. The white clad bodies laying unmoving across the battle field were quickly becoming innumerable.

‘Krell can go kark himself.’

“Fall back!” Rex yelled into his comm unit, broadcasting it across the battalion so even the General could hear all the way where he was tucked safely away from the fight. “Draw them into a bottleneck! If we can see them, we can hit them!”

They ran wildly back down the street on which they had been advancing, shooting behind themselves when they had the opportunity. Rex never thought he would be glad to see Pong Krell, but his giant, hulking figure meant safety by the time they rounded the final bend in the road followed closely by the Umbaran forces.

Even with the cover they reached, it was still a firefight to be remembered.

When his _riduur_ finally stood and and yelled, “They’re falling back!” Rex allowed himself to take the his first truly deep breath since the first mine went off.

He didn’t even have to opportunity to release it when he saw Krell stomping his way across the road towards him, slamming roughly into Fives in the process. Ahsoka was following close in Krell’s footsteps and stopped next to Fives, setting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“CT-7567!” General Krell yelled before ever even reaching Rex. “Do you have a malfunction your design? I explicitly ordered you to advance your troops towards the capital city.” He was gesturing wildly as he yelled and it was all Rex could do to keep out of his way. “Now the enemy has gained control of this route because of your negligence. Your failures have compromised this entire operation!” Rex had already opened his mouth to explain himself but was shocked silent when Krell jabbed a massive finger roughly into his chest during the tirade.

Fives stepped up angrily, shrugging off Ahsoka’s hand when she tried to hold him back. “In case you haven’t noticed, General Krell, Captain Rex just saved this entire platoon from being decimated by an attack we were unprepared for. Surely you won’t fail to recognize _that._ ”

Rex’s neck went cold at the small, smug smile that passed over Krell’s features as he turned.

“ARC-5555,” he said calmly. “How admirable of you to come to the defense of your _mate_. Truly, an impressive show of loyalty for a clone such as yourself. Regardless, I expect you to reign in your animalistic base instincts and _stand down.”_ As the words passed his lips, Krell’s lightsaber ignited to rest threateningly as the side of Fives’s head. Rex stepped forward frantically to reach them.

“General Krell!” Ahsoka yelled from behind Fives, marching up to insert herself between the two of them. “I hardly think the council would like to hear you are threatening troopers.” They stared at each other for a long moment before the saber was finally retracted back into its sheath. “Go ahead and explain, Captain,” she said, not breaking her eye contact with the General.

Rex’s hands were shaking at his sides where he had them clenched into fists. His jaw was all but vibrating and he had to take several long, deep breaths before he was sure his voice wouldn’t shake when he spoke. “Thank you, Commander,” he replied eventually. Addressing Krell he said, “General, I followed your orders, even in the face of a plan I had very little confidence in.” The longer he spoke the more venom that seeped into his voice until he was all but spitting at Krell. “A plan that cost us men,” he yelled, ripping his bucket off and letting it fall roughly to the ground. “Not clones! Men! As sure as it is my duty to remain loyal to your command and the Republic, it is also my duty to protect those same men. I know I did my duty.”

“You have a spark of tenacity, Captain. Regardless of your flaws, I’ll give you that,” he replied calmly, surveying the few troopers left in Rex’s platoon. “I am aware that I do not operate like the Jedi you are used to serving. Certainly not like General Skywalker. But I have my way. You may find me difficult or unyielding, but these are difficult and unyielding times. I have proven myself effective, and I expect my command to be respected for the duration of this campaign,” he said, turning towards Rex and gesturing to make his point. “Your loyalty to your men is to be commended, and they seem to admire you for this. That’s important in an effective commander. All right, Captain Rex, your opinion on the matter has been noted.” He turned and began walking back down the road. “Dismissed,” he called over his shoulder.

Rex stood there and watched him walk away until he was sure he was truly gone.

“I think he almost complimented you, love,” Fives said, walking up and taking Rex’s hand.

“Yeah, well it’s hard to tell,” he replied. He rubbed his thumb gently across Fives’s knuckles and pulled him closer to grasp at the back of Fives’s neck with his other hand. “Are you okay?” He asked quietly.

“I’ll be fine,” Fives answered and although he couldn’t see his face, Rex could hear the smile in his voice.

Their reprieve didn’t last long before more plasma blasts were exploding around them and Rex was retrieving his helmet to jerk it back over his head.

“Do you think General Krell still plans on taking the capital like this?” Fives yelled over the sound of blaster fire.

Rex lined up his blaster and let shots off in rapid succession. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

***

“This is karking ridiculous!” Fives exclaimed.

They were standing at the edge of the gorge that would take them to the airbase, looking down the path that ended in murky darkness broken by only the eery red glow of the spindly trees. The mere thought of that indefensible abyss that would likely lead them to a hollow victory sent a pang through Rex’s chest, right under his old blaster wound.

“The casualties are going to be high, sir,” Kix called, ever the voice of reason. “I don’t see how we can justify such a maneuver when there may not be enough of us to hold the base once we win it!”

“It’s like he’s trying to get us killed!” Tup added indignantly.

“Seriously, Captain,” Jesse said. “You have to see Krell’s out of his karking mind.”

“I understand it’s a risky operation, but we’re running low on options,” Rex declared.

Fives hummed where he was standing next to Rex. “Just like marching directly up to the capital was our best option? This is just the General pushing another flawed strategy and hoping we can clean up his mess for him later!”

“Well, I for one agree with the General’s plan. We’re running low on time and it’s our best bet at capturing the base as fast as possible,” Dogma added.

Jesse scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Come off of it, Dogma. No recon? No air support? We have no clue how many Umbarans we’re about to go up against _and_ they have weapons that outpace ours by lightyears.” As he spoke he knocked his bucket against his head roughly. Kix grabbed the edge of it before it could make another impact with his skull and sent Jesse a withering look. “Yeah, sorry Kix,” he said quieter, relinquishing it to his husband’s grasp to stop his nervous fidgeting.

“Look, I know it’s a risk, but more than a few of General Skywalker’s plans seemed reckless too. We have no choice but to trust this strategy,” Rex said firmly.

Without even looking Rex knew Fives was shaking his head back and forth. “General Skywalker never left his to men lead the march,” he said coldly. “Reckless or not, he has always been willing to stand with us in a firefight.”

“Yeah! It’s going be a meat grinder down there and he left us here to fight it out ourselves!”

The argument devolved from there with random troopers yelling back and forth across the clearing at each other as if any amount of indignation would have the power to change Krell’s mind.

“Fives,” Rex called discreetly over the arguing voices.

Rex made eye contact with his _riduur_ and had to stop himself from jerking back at the anger glinting in his eyes. Instead, he nodded his head towards the sorry excuse of a tree Umbara had to offer. It’s bark was oddly smooth and when Rex leaned his back heavily into it he nearly slid off the plastoid-like surface entirely. Fives reached out and grasped his shoulder, stabilizing him with a huffed laugh that killed the spark of fire in his expression.

“Easy there,” he said with a sly smirk. “Clumsy is my thing.”

Rex smiled tiredly despite himself and grasped at Fives’s hand on his shoulder. Fives glanced off to the distance where the gathered troopers were preparing for the assault, ensuring they were out of view of their men, then crowded into his _riduur’s_ personal space. When Rex wasn’t carrying extra weight and a baby, he and Fives had almost the exact same physique. They were normally both well muscled and sturdy, and they had always been able to look each other in the eye without any sort of struggle, but Fives had a way of seeming bigger than he was. Whether it was the bulkiness of his armor or his excitable personality or his love of physical affection, he always managed to wrap Rex in him completely. With Fives surrounding around him, pulling him tight to his chest, Umbara fell to the background. Rex wrapped his arms around Five’s back and buried his face in his neck. Even through the layers of dirt and grime and sweat, he smelled distinctly of citrus in a way only Fives could.

“ _Manda_ , I’m tired, Fives,” Rex whispered. The arms around his back tightened further and their armor clacked together softly in the embrace.

“I know,” Fives replied. “We just have to get to that air base and then we can stop.” His lips moved against Rex’s neck as he spoke and the sensation prickled his arms with goose flesh.

Reluctant to let Fives go, Rex lifted his head and held tight to the embrace. “The key is getting there,” he said on a weary sigh. “I know you don’t agree with this plan. Hell, I don’t either. But, it would help if you could ease their minds before we start down that gorge.”

Fives jerked up at that, sliding his hands to rest on Rex’s waist so he could step back and see him more clearly. “This is a suicide mission. We lost a lot of men last time and we’re going to lose a lot of men this time too if we going down that path. I can’t just go out there and tell them to put their faith in something like this.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Rex said solemnly. “This is how Krell does things and nothing I say or Ahsoka says is going to make any difference.”

“Kriff, Rex,” Fives exclaimed, finally stepping away to pace nervously. “I don’t care how effective he looks from the outside, we both know his casualty numbers. More troopers have been killed under his command than anyone else and now lot of very good men are about to meet the same fate. He doesn’t give a damn who dies in that gorge as long as they aren’t holding a lightsaber when it happens.”

“Don’t you think I understand that?” Rex asked. “High casualty numbers or not we are duty bound to follow our orders and lay down our lives if it comes to that. That’s the oath we took.”

Fives turned on him again and the fire had returned to his eyes and his breath was coming in ragged pants. “I know you don’t believe a word of that. That may have been you at the beginning of war when the indoctrination still had a hold of you, but not anymore. We are worth more than Krell is willing to give us! So, don’t give me that load of banthashit because I don’t buy it! If that’s what you need to tell yourself to get through this karking day, fine. But I am not willing to sacrifice you!”

“What do you want me to say, Fives? I’m here because I have to be. I didn’t get a choice in this,” he reminded him, conscious of his hand that had migrated to grip at the armor padding around his waistline. “We can’t just change the General’s plan. You know it’s not that easy. We can yell and argue about it until we’ve gone blue in the face, but he’s proven he cares very little for how we feel about anything.”

Fives's head hung in defeat by the time Rex had finished speaking. He stepped up to Rex again and pulled at the the white knuckled grip over his stomach, smoothing his hand over Rex’s where their baby rested. “I’m not giving you—either of you—up for this war, let alone in service to Pong Krell,” he swore.

“I can’t lose you either, _cyare._ So, what do you propose we do?”

***

Rex and Fives weren’t in the fight for long after that.

First, they called Ahsoka down to lead the charge into the gorge. Krell was far from thrilled when they commed for her to join them, but the way she slid down the hill into the grouped troopers below showed just how excited she was to be back in the action. She spared just a moment to get her bearings and greet her men, then she led the platoons into the depth of the eerie forest with Fives and Rex on either side of her.

The path was cast in a red glow emanating from the tops of the trees and their boots treaded over mysterious berries that left stains like blood on their stark white armor. The path was marked with glowing stains like breadcrumbs directly to their positions. No amount of scrubbing the bottom of their boots against the tentacle-like branches that rose from the ground like Kaminoan sea creatures could remove the sickly color.

The airbase was a solid 10 klicks from their starting point, and they didn’t meet any resistance for the first four. By the time they had reached the halfway point, even Rex felt a small sense of security that was quickly dashed by a green blaster bolt narrowly missing his head.

“That would be your cue!” Ahsoka had called, finally igniting her sabers and taking off into the dark.

Rex and Fives slipped off away from the fight and disappeared into the dark as their men ran into the fray.

They were mostly silent at first, making their way perpendicular to the fight in an effort to circle around the enemy forces. They listened for the distinct sound of blaster fire and the massive stomping of whatever mechanical nightmares the Umbarans had created. Once it had all faded into a distant drone, they changed course to make their way to the enemy air base glowing like a beacon in the cloudy sky.

“Hard to believe it’s only midday,” Fives said eventually, confident that they were completely alone.

“Ugh don’t remind me,” Rex replied while rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen enough of this kriffing planet to last me a life time. I have never missed our bed so badly before. Or mess hall food.”

Fives laughed and shot him a look Rex could see even through his bucket. “I don’t care where we go. I will never miss mess hall food. I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“You really want me to believe that between nutrient sand smashed into the shape of a bar and at least warm nutrient whatever they’ve decided to serve, you would choose the sand?”

“Oh I don’t know,” Fives said. “Crumble it up, mix in a little water to make a paste. Slurp it down like some bastard son of a stew.”

Rex shook his head and scoffed. “Fives, I swear to the _Manda_ I will puke in your bucket.”

“Duly noted,” he replied with a nod.

The closer they got to the base, the more their boots crunched the overly dry underbrush, and the thickest branches gave way to clearings illuminated by florescent blue mushrooms that lined the bases of the trees. Each time they reached the edge of a clearing they stopped and listened closely for movement or blaster fire before rushing across, careful to avoid the massive, tentacled, carnivorous plants not unlike the one that had attempted to make Fives dinner at the beginning of the campaign.

Even in the dead silence and covered head to toe in armor, Rex knew Fives had more to ask. It was in the way his head would turn halfway to glance at Rex in the edges of his HUD and in the way his shoulders would swivel as if to focus his attention on him instead of the forward path. Every few minutes Rex heard Fives take a deep breath, hold it, then finally release it without ever saying anything. Rex allowed the indecision to continue for an entire kilometer before the tension felt like a band that had been stretched out too far, more than ready to snap.

“Whatever you have to say, Fives, just say it,” Rex told him. “You’ve never hesitated like this before and I will not allow this mission to push us that far away from each other.”

Fives let out a heavy sigh and the thick tension between them felt lighter because of it. “Krell has said something to you that’s upset you badly and I want to understand,” he said.

“Fives,” he sighed.

“I know you said we didn’t have the time and we could talk about it later,” Fives replied, cutting him off. “And now we have another couple klicks before we reach the base.”

“There’s been a lot Krell has said that’s upset me. The man really seems to hate clones,” Rex answered vaguely.

An unattractive snort sounded mechanically through Fives vocoder. “Oh you don’t say? I’m shocked, really. I thought we got on quite well when he brought that lightsaber to my throat.”

The very thought caused Rex’s hands to shake and he gripped his blasters tighter to hide the tremor. “I think it goes deeper than that,” Rex replied. “It’s like he’s not just frustrated or trying to make a point to us or something. I’m not even so sure it’s _just_ that we’re clones.”

“What has he said?” Fives asked suspiciously.

Rex swallowed hard despite his suddenly dry throat. “He doesn’t like that I’m an omega in command. He’s made it clear more than once that I am not to speak unless spoken to.”

Fives stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face him. “You’re kriffing kidding me,” he said lowly.

Shaking his head Rex replied, “I wish I was. He also called our marriage—ah what was the word—perverse.”

This time when Fives laughed it was cold as ice. He wordlessly resumed his trek with Rex close on his heels.

“Fives?” Rex asked eventually.

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just, well, we’ve certainly heard that one before. I’m not really sure why it surprises me anymore.”

“He’s supposed to be a Jedi,” Rex whispered.

“A lot of good that’s done us. Starting to make me wonder just how many good Jedi are left.”

Rex tripped over a branch, barely regaining his balance before he grabbed Fives’s pauldron and turned on him. “You can’t say things like that, Fives! Have you lost your kriffing mind?” He exclaimed.

Shrugging off Rex’s grip, Fives continued to walk towards the base, finally beginning to see the glow of its perimeter lights in the distance. “You know I haven’t. Just look what they’ve put all of us through, Rex. I trust Anakin and Ahsoka and Obi-Wan with my life. But Krell waltzes in and we’re supposed to blindly trust him because of those swords he wears on his hips. Well, spoiler alert, we did and we have effectively lost more men on this one mission than we have on our last three. _Manda_ forbid how many more could be dying in that gorge right this very minute. And for what really? Krell’s pride? Am I seriously supposed to believe that Obi-Wan and Cody couldn’t hold the front line long enough for us to do exactly what we’re doing now?”

Rex was at a loss for words. He knew Fives was right. He had been battling Krell at every opportunity to find a better way and his every word fell on deaf ears. “I’m not going to tell you that you’re wrong if that’s what you’re expecting,” he replied.

“You and I are going to walk into this base, steal these ships, and go back to end the entire skirmish. Yet something tells me Ahsoka was damn near crucified by Krell over comms when she told him she ‘ordered’ us out here. Really, it’s all for nothing.”

“I can’t tell myself that it means nothing though. That all of this happened senselessly. I would never know peace again. I just know I have done everything in my power to do the right thing.”

Fives sighed and scrubbed a hand across his visor as if he could alleviate the exhaustion in his eyes. “I know it’s not all for nothing. I’m just so tired of this, love. We all share a face and that makes us worth less somehow.”

“But we know that’s not true, Fives,” Rex replied.

“I just want us to live to see the day where all of this was worth it,” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” Rex said. “I do too.”

They fell silent then, the perimeter of the air base too close to take the risk. It was a bit of a hassle to make their way up the slick barked trees and over the deadly border wall. Fives slid wildly down the giant glowing branch hanging over the base. Rex followed soon after, hating absolutely every moment of the rapid descent towards the ground. Fives stabilized him with a hand on his back when he reached the bottom and they disappeared into the shadows of the air base.

One advantage of the ridiculously large, luminous lights all over the planet, Rex had realized, was how easy they made it to sneak around corners and fade into the background.

They met relatively little resistance, only taking down the rare Umbaran soldier on their way to the hangar. They both plopped down in the foreign ships and dropped their helmets to the bottom of their force field pods as the world erupted in useless blaster fire bouncing off the ships.

Rex made eye contact with Fives in the pod across from him and they shared a sure nod before spinning their ships precariously to the rescue of their men.

It was a small learning curve, quite literally, to force the ships to follow a straight line. Firing on the enemy tanks on the other hand might as well have been second nature. The battle was easily won by the troopers on ground from there, and Rex was relieved to see that the wounded being gathered up and helped into transport vehicles headed to the base far outnumbered the dead laid side by side without their helmets in another.

Rex and Fives followed the procession in their ships, monitoring for any surprise attacks from the sides as they made their way tiredly towards the air base. All seemed to have fallen quiet on Umbara, and luck seemed to have shined on them for the first time since they landed on the cursed planet.

Landing the ship was another story entirely. They set down in the field surrounding the base easily enough, but climbing out of them drained the teeth chattering adrenaline from Rex's blood stream. His eyes widened and he ran towards the nearby bin and violently lost his breakfast while Fives rubbed his back soothingly. Just when he thought it was over, his stomach protested again at the memory of his ship rolling through the sky avoiding florescent green plasma blasts, and he dry heaved for a few moments until his throat was sore and his breath was coming in harsh gasps.

“Kriff,” he huffed out when the waves of nausea had passed. He took the water skein Fives offered him and swished the sour taste from his mouth and spat it into the bin.

When he turned around, there was a small crowd of men waiting for him. “Can I help you all?” He asked gruffly, wiping at the edges of his mouth with his filthy gloves.

Tup was brave enough to step up first. “We were waiting for orders, sir. The Commander is helping to round up the rest of the Umbarans and the General isn’t here yet. But, uh, are you okay, Captain?”

Rex moved towards his abandoned ship and gathered up his discarded helmet before responding. “I’m fine, Tup. These things are a bit of a hard ride.”

Kix opened his mouth to speak when Krell bounded up.

“Captain, report. What is our situation?” He asked.

Straightening his spine, Rex met Krell’s indifferent gaze head on. “We seemed to have been fortunate this time, General. With Commander Tano’s quick thinking in sending ARC Trooper Fives and myself ahead to the base, we managed to avoid the major casualties we projected.”

Krell hummed low in his chest and glanced past Rex to take in the Umbaran prisoners. “You should all consider yourselves fortunate then.”

“We certainly do, sir. I would always prefer to lose none of my men, but the lower the number, the better” Rex replied, keeping his eyes glued forward. 

“Ah,” Krell said. “The price for such victory. I hope you have learned from these experiences today, Captain.”

“Yes, sir. I certainly did.”

***

The best part about winning the base was the promise of a bed to fall into after a long, warm shower to remove the grit from their skin. Thankfully, there was an abundance of beds and bunk rooms to choose from scattered throughout the floors of the tower and, for once while on campaign, no trooper would have to go without.

The room Rex found himself in was spacious and comfortable. Around him there were actual mattresses and pillows and blankets they were all free to use. They were the most comfortable accommodations they had ever seen during a siege. The beds were fairly small, built to accommodate a single Umbaran soldier rather than a fully grown, genetically enhanced, bulky human man, let alone two. Even still, Kix and Jesse were sprawled across each other on one of the bunks, both freshly scrubbed within an inch of their lives. Tup had claimed a top bunk for whatever reason. Rex wasn’t sure he could be paid to drag his sore body up and down the ladder at a moment’s notice, but the kid was still young and his joints didn’t crack when he stood up yet. His hair was let down around his shoulders, dripping water onto the sheets in puddles. Dogma was sitting stiffly on the bunk below him, fiddling with something on a datapad with which Rex didn’t care to concern himself. Hardcase was still busy breaking down and cleaning his blaster at the long table that spanned the length of the room. He was still fully armored while everyone else was stripped down to their freshly rinsed blacks. Rex had spent many nights sat next to Hardcase as he came down from the adrenaline of a hard-won battle. Even with the heaviness of exhaustion pulling at his eyes, his hands shook as he wiped the polishing cloth back and forth across the barrel. He likely had forgotten to shower, but Rex decided to push the issue later. Then, there was Fives. While Rex had been conferring with the General and Ahsoka, Fives had cleaned the grime from his skin and cleaned up the edges of his beard with the straight razor Rex knew he brought on every campaign. He was sat on a bunk on the far side of the room facing the door, and his face lit up with a smile when Rex passed the threshold.

As he made his way across the room, Rex stopped for a moment to pat Hardcase on the back and lean down to whisper, “Don’t forget to remove your stim patches.” He received a tired nod in response and that was good enough for him. Jesse gave him a friendly nod before going back to stroking his hand through Kix’s hair as the medic’s eyes started to close. He grabbed a black hair tie off the table and sat it next to Tup on the bunk and received a sleepy smile in thanks.

When he finally reached Fives, he turned his back on the room and leaned down to press his lips to his _riduur’s_ freshly washed hair. Fives unclipped the belt wrapped snuggly around his waist and Rex let out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Fives leaned forward and pressed his forehead to the flexible armor covering his rounded middle. Fives’s arms came to wrap around his back and Rex rested his hands on the back of Fives’s head.

“I have to shower, _cyar’ika_ ,” Rex whispered, painfully aware of the eyes boring into his back.

“Yeah,” Fives replied. “You stink.”

Rex snorted andsmacked at the back of Fives’s head. When he pulled back, Fives gave him a kind smile before tapping his lips with his index finger. Rolling his eyes, Rex leaned down and allowed himself the privilege of kissing his husband for the first time since landing on Umbara.

“I’ll be back,” he said when he pulled away.

The refresher was on the other side of the room and it was much less impressive than Rex was anticipating. Unlike everything else on Umbara, it was plain and simple, no frills attached. Either way a shower was a shower and he wasn’t one to complain.

His pauldron was the first piece of armor to go. It was followed closely by everything on his upper body, then his lower body until his boots were kicked off and he was left in nothing but his blacks. He stripped off his gloves and pulled off his socks with either foot, allowing them to bunch up awkwardly against the tile. Finally, he pulled off the top of his blacks and shoved the bottoms down along with the shorts underneath.

Before the bottoms could even hit the ground, Rex stopped dead. There was an unfamiliar, sickly sheen to the fabric of his shorts tangled around his calves. When he reached down with a shaky hand, his fingertips came away from the fabric bright red.

Rex’s vision went fuzzy around the edges and his stomach lurched dangerously. By the time he was frantically jerking his blacks back up his legs, his heart was beating painfully in his chest. He barely had the top half pulled over his head when he reached the door that led to the barracks.

“Kix!” He gasped, his breath coming rapidly.

Everyone in the room jumped and Kix sat up quickly from where he was resting against Jesse’s chest.

“What’s wrong, Rex?” He asked as he rose from the bed and crossed the room. Fives was on his feet in the corner, gripping the bed rail in a white knuckled grasp. After a second of hesitation, he was following close on Kix’s heels.

“I-I-I’m b-bleeding, Kix. I’m bleeding,” he rushed out.

Kix already had has hands on his arms by the time he finished speaking. “Bleeding where?” He asked, all signs of tiredness having vanished from his face.

Rex grasped desperately at the blacks covering his stomach, jaw quivering dangerously when he tried to speak again.

“You think you’re bleeding from your uterus?” Kix whispered, eyes flashing down to Rex’s death grip on his top.

All Rex could do was nod.

“Okay. Take a deep breath, Rex,” Kix said. “We’re going to do a scan and figure out what’s wrong.”

“M-my baby,” he choked out.

“ _Udesii,_ ” Kix soothed, taking Rex by the arm. “You can bleed while you’re pregnant. Nothing has to be wrong,” Kix whispered in his ear.

Fives moved around them to take Rex’s other elbow and they led him to his bunk in the corner of the room. Fives’s eyes were wide and his face was painfully blank and the expression cut Rex to the bone.

“Jesse,” Kix snapped out over his shoulder. Without any further instruction, he stood from his spot on the bed and ushered everyone from the room.

They guided Rex to lie flat on his back and Fives settled down on his other side to grip his hand tight while Kix pulled things methodically from his medpack.

Rex was helpless but to stare at the bottom of the bunk above him and pray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations:
> 
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> cyare- beloved  
> Manda- the collective soul or heaven- supreme, overarching, guardian-like  
> cyar’ika- darling, sweetheart  
> udesii- calm down, take it easy


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am proud to say I have returned! January is a bad month as a concept, so now that that nonsense is over with, I'm ready to get back into updating and writing more. 
> 
> A couple things! I really like Mando'a and the clones speaking Mando'a. So, to (hopefully) make some lives easier, I finally figured out how to use HTML formatting. If you are on a computer, you can now hover over any Mando'a word to receive a translation. Unfortunately, this only works on the computer and not the mobile version of the site. I will continue to put translations at the end of the chapter regardless.
> 
> Also! I have said before that I have converted everything into the Star Wars Galactic Standard Calendar (which is a pain to use, friends). So, I'm going to start listing how far along Rex is in both normal weeks and Star Wars weeks. At this point he is about 21 weeks along Star Wars time and 15 weeks along our time. 
> 
> Again, thank you so so much for reading. I hope you enjoy the update!

The underside of the bunk above Rex wasn’t terribly interesting. He could only see the grey, durasteel slats holding up the thin mattress, the fabric bowing through the gaps even without someone laying above him. The mattress was a boring shade of off-white, exactly the same as the one in his room on the Resolute. All things considered, it was boring and mundane. But if Rex was looking at that unexceptional mattress held up by unexceptional durasteel in an unexceptional room, he didn’t have to think about everything happening around him.

The sheet laid over his bent knees didn’t make much sense to him. He knew it was meant to create some sort of privacy, but he’d found it ridiculous ever since his first physical after presenting as an omega. Kix, having been the one to lay the sheet over him in the first place, was already on the opposite side of it so it wasn’t as if there was anything to hide at that point. The only other person in the room was Fives and there hadn’t been secrets between them in years. Besides that, they were very much clones and nothing was drastically different from one trooper to the next. Really, the sheet was a senseless detail that Kix never skipped. Privacy in such a way was not a luxury they were often afforded. So, Rex didn’t argue when Kix quietly told him to rest the soles of his feet flat on the bunk before he tossed the flimsy white fabric in an arc above him.

The pad he was laying on made a lot more sense to him. With the sheet held pointlessly against his waist, Fives helped him wiggle out of the lower half of his blacks and the shorts he wore underneath. Kix slipped the white gauze under him before he lowered his hips back down to the bunk. After all, there was really no need to make a mess.

He didn’t like to think about the rubbery feel of the gloves Kix wore. He jumped when one rested on the outside of his thigh because it reminded him of where he was and why he was there. Kix whispered softly to him, warning him each time before his hands moved, but Rex preferred not to listen. What had to be done would be done, and no amount of head nodding from Rex would make any difference. The cool plastoid Kix pressed against his skin, just beyond the sheet that was hiding absolutely nothing, nearly made his mind white out with panic, and he felt the bones in Fives’s hand grind together as he squeezed it tight in his own grip. He knew he should’ve let go, that this was nothing new, but his fingertips were still stained with blood and the mattress above him wasn’t terribly fascinating, so Fives’s hand was the most interesting thing for him to focus on that didn’t make his heart seize in his chest.

It was a short eternity before Kix sat back on the bed and his plastoid tools were pulled away and set down on the gauzy pad and the sheet was tossed down over the rest of Rex’s legs. The gloves snapped loudly in the quiet room when Kix pulled them off and dropped them in his waste bag.

“Rex,” Kix called.

Rex ground his teeth together, working his jaw back and forth as he continued staring at the bunk above him. Fives squeezed his hand twice while he waited.

“You’re both okay, _vod_ ,” Kix said when he didn’t receive an answer. He reached over and started packing his things away while Rex sat on what he said.

“Then why am I bleeding, Kix?” Rex asked, his voice hoarse when he spoke. “How can we both be okay?”

Kix reached for a datapad and moved to Rex’s side. He kneeled down on the floor next to the bunk and flipped through a few different pages before pulling up the video from the scan he had taken. “Look here,” he gestured at the screen and Rex finally broke his stare down with the top bunk. “The scans came back clear and your internal exam came back fine. I’ll need to do labs on you when we get back to the Resolute, but I think a lot of it is hormonal. You’ve got some cervical irritation, probably from sex. But really I think it’s your body and your hormones reacting badly to stress and exertion.”

“Of course it is,” Rex spit. “What am I supposed to do about it then?”

“When we’re done here, I’m going to put you on bed rest for about a week or so until it clears up. For all we know, you could be getting used to being in the field in your condition and this will never happen again. This isn’t a typical campaign and your body is having to adjust,” he explained. “It isn’t fair and it shouldn’t be happening. But I promise I’m going to do everything I can to keep you both safe.” Kix glanced down at the datapad in his hands again and sighed.

Rex bit hard at his bottom lip until his mouth flooded with the metallic taste of his own blood. He tossed his head to the side and was met with the blacks covering Fives’s hip. He allowed himself to rest his forehead there and take a shuddering breath. Fingers ran through his hair and caressed the back of his head as he breathed and he more felt than heard Fives speaking.

“What about right now then, Kix? Sure we’ll both be fine to watch some holofilms for a few days when this is all over. But what do we do to get through the next few days?”

Kix dropped from his squatted position to sit heavily on the floor. He threw one arm over his bent knee and rubbed at the ache in his hip. “There’s not much to be done right now. Rex and the baby are fine. The bleeding isn't an indication that anything is going to be wrong. Until we get off this rock, you need to make sure you’re taking breaks. The General likely won’t allow too much of that, but sit when you can and don’t try to lift anything. Stay hydrated and eat even if you can’t keep it down. But, really Rex, it’s time to ask for help. Krell isn’t going to understand, but your _aliit _will.”

Rex’s voice wavered dangerously when he spoke again. “It was never supposed to be like this.”

“No,” Kix said softly. “It wasn’t. In a perfect galaxy, your little one would have come five years after the war when you would have been allowed to sit on your porch in the Mid Rim with a cup of tea. In a less perfect one, Anakin would have still been here and Krell never would have crossed our minds. But this is what we have and your baby is healthy and _still here_. It will be okay, Rex. I promise.”

“You know you shouldn’t make promises like that,” he responded, turning again to face Kix sitting on the floor. “They’re hard to keep.”

“I mean this one.”

Rex braced one hand on the bed and shuffled so he was sitting up again, holding the sheet close to his hips as he moved. There was a little loose thread at the very edge of the stitching and he pulled at it with blunt nails until it was long enough to wrap around his finger and rip away from the fabric entirely. He stilled when Kix’s hand closed around this own.

“Do you want to see your baby?” He asked.

Nodding soundlessly, Rex held out his hand and accepted the datapad Kix offered him. The screen was already glowing with the video from his scans. It was a fuzzy picture in strange shades of grey, but in the middle of the fray was the curled up little form of their baby. He ghosted his fingers across the screen and pulled away to press them into his stomach. Rex’s breath came easier then.

Fives leaned in close and rested his chin on the top of Rex’s head as he watch the shapes move and morph in the video.

“I can tell you the sex,” Kix said quietly, reluctant to break the peaceful silence. “If you two want to know, of course.”

Rex and Fives glanced at each other and nodded in tandem. Kix boosted himself off the floor to reach over for the datapad and rewind the video to a different view. “It’s not very easy to tell all the time. The system gave me a suggestion and I double checked so I’m pretty sure,” he paused the picture and drew a circle around part of the still image, “that you are expecting a little girl.”

Tears sprang to Rex’s eyes and he wiped them away before they could fall. “Looks like you’re getting that daughter you talked about, _cyare,_ ” he forced out. He glanced up at Fives in time to watch him wipe hastily at his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“Yeah,” Fives replied gruffly. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Rex’s head. “Thank you.”

Kix took back the datapad after that and started sorting through the tools he had laid out on the bed, his back turned to give the couple their privacy. Out of the corner of his eye, Rex watched as Kix slipped a data drive from the side of the pad and tucked it away in a pocket on the side of his bag.

***

Fives held Rex under the steady stream of water in the ‘fresher. Rex’s blacks had been rinsed out and were laid over a bench on the other side of the room, dripping water to the floor in little puddles as they dried.

There was no water rationing in the compound, and they had been standing there much longer than they had planned to, but the water was warm and Fives’s hands cradled the bottom of the curve of Rex’s stomach and they swayed slowly back and forth. The warm water soothed the ache from their muscle and wiped the grime from Rex’s skin in foggy little puddles on the tile. Relief had never tasted so sweet, and they breathed it in the silence.

Nothing had to exist when it was just them.

Of course, they couldn’t hide away in their solitude forever. Eventually, Rex tilted his head back and let the water run down his chest in rivulets that gathered in the junction of Fives’s arms wrapped around his waist. He breathed in deep and let out a sigh, the water dribbling into his mouth when he opened it. The water tasted a little different from what he was used to on the Resolute and on Coruscant. It was more metallic from the filtration system nestled deep under the complex, and the flavor turned his stomach. He spat it out to the tiled floor and broke free from Fives’s embrace to move for the towels tossed over the wall that divided their shower stall from the one beside them. The water shut off as he was patting himself dry and Fives reached around him for the second towel.

They dressed in silence side by side, savoring the steamy warmth of the room. Rex paused a moment to stare at the little sterile packet of gauze Kix had pushed into his hand laying on the bench next to his blacks. He glanced up to meet Fives’s gaze and grimaced, waving the little packet in the air. “Well this isn’t going to be very comfortable I don’t think.”

Jerking the top of his blacks back over his head, Fives answered, “No, probably not, love.”

Rex hummed noncommittally and ripped the packet open. He positioned the gauze in his undershorts and forced them up his damp hips before wiggling awkwardly to make it lay against his skin more comfortably. Rex pulled his own blacks back on and turned to the singular mirror set into the far wall. He brushed his palm down across his stomach, turning to see himself in profile as he did so. He pushed and pulled at the fabric covering his abdomen as if he could will it to fit flat and slim in his profile, but it stayed stubbornly curved outward into the palm of his hand no matter which direction he turned. He itched for the security of his armor padding that hid him from everyone’s scrutiny.

“They’re all going to know now,” he said, his voice echoing strangely in the open room.

Fives met his gaze in the mirror. “They probably already do.”

Nodding his head a couple times and taking a steadying breath, Rex turned towards the door that led back into the bunk room once again. “I guess it’s time we talk to our _aliit _now.”

Coming to stand just behind him, Fives reached for his hand and squeezed it twice, thumbing his corded bracelet as he did so. “Whenever you’re ready,” he responded.

There was no point in delaying the inevitable any further, and Rex had been drilled for a lifetime to meet his problems before they could come to him. He hit the release for the door and took one last deep breath as it slid open to the room beyond.

Jesse had returned with the other troopers slated to stay with them for the evening, and everyone was settled on their selected bed again. All eyes jerked forward to face them when they passed through the threshold.

Crossing the shallow room, Rex pulled a chair out from under the long table and turned it to face his _vode _in their bunks. The legs of the chair screeched against the floor and sent a jolt down Rex’s spine. He settled down onto it heavily and pulled on the hem of his shirt in a last attempt at some sort of modesty. When that failed, he grazed his thumb just under his navel before settling his hands in his lap. Fives plopped down in the seat next to him without bothering to turn the chair first, his legs resting on either side of the back support.

“So,” Rex began confidently, “I think it’s only fair for me to answer your questions. I haven’t been overly forthcoming recently, and I’m sorry for that.”

Hardcase tapped his fist against his leg a few times before looking up to meet his eyes. “Are you okay, sir?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m fine, Hardcase.”

He hummed, continuing to tap his fingers against the armor still on his legs. “And your _ik’aad_? They’re okay too?”

Rex smiled and barely resisted the knee-jerk reaction to shield his stomach with his hand as if he could make a difference. “Yeah. She’s fine too.”

In a mess of waves falling in his eyes, Tup perked up from his spot on his bunk above Dogma. “A girl? That’s insane,” he gasped, eyes bright.

Rex snorted unattractively. “Trust me, kid. I’m not quite used to the idea myself.”

“Does the General know?” Dogma didn’t pull his eyes from the sheets jumbled beneath him.

“Not General Krell,” Fives answered quickly before Rex had an opportunity to even open his mouth. “Generals Skywalker and Kenobi are aware as well as Commander Tano. I assure you, Dogma, everyone that needs to know does now.”

Satisfied with the answer, Dogma went back to running his fingers through the folds of the sheets.

“There’s more I need to tell you all,” Rex said, drawing the attention back to himself again. Even Fives looked at him curiously. “I originally only came back here to get freshened up before heading back up to command, but I went ahead and sent Appo when I… realized I wouldn’t be back as quick as I’d planned. I met with General Krell and we managed to speaking with General Kenobi over comms. Despite capturing this base, the Umbarans are still managing to get supplies through to the capital from a ship in atmo. They’re decimating our ships before we can even get close, and we’re still struggling to gain any ground down here. He’s ordered me to have the battalion mobilized to march on the capital again in the next 18 hours.”

“You’re karking joking,” Fives said, voice strained. “You have to be because we won’t make it past the delta! The have weapons we can’t even _dream_ of and yet we’re supposed to just march on into the capital! There won’t be enough of us left For Kenobi to even scrape off the ground!” The longer he spoke the louder his voice grew until he was shouting.

“Fives,” Rex sighed softly, looking down at the floor at Fives’s bare feet. “Please don’t do this. I’ve done everything I can to reason with him. There’s nothing else to be done. The Commander has already been sent ahead on reconnaissance with a squad of troopers. She’s supposed to make it before we leave tomorrow.We’ll have to take the main road out there though.”

Jesse threw his hands up narrowly missing Kix with the datapad still held in his hand. Kix ducked skillfully out of the way, having dealt with his _riduur_ for long enough to anticipate the movement. “So that’s karking fantastic,” Jesse called. He gestured with the pad again and Kix moved with him to avoid the line of fire. “This is just another suicide mission. You have to see that, Rex!”

“Yeah!” Tup called, joining in the chaos. “I’m starting to think this is about how much he hates clones rather than recapturing any capital.”

Dogma remained silent where he sat, many hours and battles past defending the General.

“I can’t pretend that he doesn’t care about casualties,” Kix said from his spot against Jesse’s side. “If I think he doesn’t care about our lives then I’m not sure how I’m supposed to stand beside him. But I think he’s blinded by his desire for victory.”

Jesse laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, well, he’s forgetting that there are real lives at stake here. Or maybe he doesn’t count us as lives anymore, I don’t know. But I do know that I’ve never seen a General with casualties like this before.”

“I’ve never seen a Jedi with such little regard for every breathing being around them. There’s plenty of arrogance in the temple, but at least they call us by our names,” Fives spat.

Rex reached out and grabbed Fives around the upper arm. “I told you to drop that,” he forced out through clenched teeth. “Not here and not now.” Fives jaw worked back and forth and he pulled his arm carefully from Rex’s grip to cross with the other across his chest.

Rex turned back towards the other troopers in the room and boosted himself from his seat. “I don’t agree with the General or his tactics or his people skills,” he declared, “but I simply don’t have a better plan. In five hours I am going to have to drag my _shebs_ out of that bunk and put out the order to prepare to storm that capital whether I want to or not. We are out of options and I’d like to at least get a little sleep before that happens.”

Knowing better than to continue the argument, Rex received nods from the men scattered throughout the room and they all turned back to their bunks to settle in for what little of the night cycle they would get to rest. Rex pulled back the covers on his own bunk in the corner of the room and settled in, waiting for Fives to squeeze in close to his side before tossing the sheets over their legs.

“Do you really think we can pull this off?” Fives whispered into his ear once the lights clicked off and soft snores could be heard from the other side of the room.

“We don’t have a choice.”

Long after everyone had given into sleep that night, Fives was still staring at the slats that lined the bottom of the bunk above him. Despite the confidence Rex did his best to instill in them, he couldn’t shake the doubts that settled heavy on his chest. No matter what, Fives knew he couldn’t allow them to make that march on the capital, and he would do whatever he had to to make sure it didn’t happen. For the troopers Krell had forgotten, for his _aliit _fast asleep around him, and for his little family resting soundly beside him.

***

When Fives’s alarm woke him a few hours later, Rex was already gone, and the sheets where he had laid were cold. Fives allowed himself just a moment to breathe in and out slowly to get his bearings before he sat up in bed to face the day ahead of him.

He pulled his armor on quickly and methodically, not having to look as he did so and each piece snapped firmly into place. Around the room he heard the _click_ of armor banging together as it was assembled.

They all sat at the table in the room and ate their reconstituted rations in silence, the exhaustion of the mission weighing their shoulders down. Tup ate his meal with one eye open, half leaned into his brother’s side, and Kix was pressing the pads of his fingers into his temples every so often to relieve pressure that had gathered there over the past few days. When Jesse offered him two little white capsules from a pocket on his own belt, Kix took them gratefully and pressed a soft kiss to his _riduur’s_ cheekbone in return. Hardcase though, was as chipper as always, although given his silence and the way he twirled his fork between two fingers after every few bites, the march to the capital was sitting on him as much as it was on all of them.

Tup and Dogma’s comms rang first, sounding off shrill in the quiet.

“We’re needed in weapons,” Tup read off, already packing away his little cutlery set back into its bag. Dogma quickly scarfed down the rest of his food and washed it down with a large gulp of water before following suit. “We’ll check in with you all before we head out,” Tup called as they made their way to the door. Dogma threw out a quick wave as he chewed his mouthful of rations and the door slid shut behind him.

Fives waited a few minutes before speaking to ensure they were really gone. “We need to figure out what to do about the march into the capital.”

Everyone jerked in their seats to stare at him, mouths agape.

“What do you mean?” Kix asked, setting his fork down with a clatter against the table. “You heard Rex. There’s nothing we can do now. Krell’s mind is made up.”

Fives stabbed his own fork into the bowl of reconstituted egg, smashing the tines into them until the water he had added seeped out and formed foggy puddles in the bowl and the food itself lost its integrity and fell to crumbly bits. Once his food was appropriately pulverized, he smacked his hand down against the table and straightened his spine. “I don’t want to tell the General,” he said. “Or Rex.”

Jesse laughed, albeit a little hysterically, from across the table. “Alright, _vod_. You’re out of your karking mind.”

“No, Jess. I’m serious. Rex, well, he’s been through enough on this campaign as it is. We all have, but I can’t put this on him right now. Not with Krell breathing down his neck as it is. I don’t expect any of you to follow me into this, because whatever I have to do is going to be dangerous and reckless and is likely going to get me a court martial so large, I will feel it up my _shebs _until my kid has kids. All I’m asking for is help to figure out what I need to do to prevent Krell from doing anymore damage in his crusade for that karking capital. Maybe if I can pull it off well enough, Krell will let me off easy, or Kenobi can help me. Either way, something has to be done.”

No one said anything at first. Hardcase went from tentatively eating to tapping his fork rapidly against the edge of the table with a little metallic _clink_ , and Jesse and Kix turned to face each other in their seats, never saying a word but communicating all the same.

The metallic clack of Hardcase’s fork stopped abruptly. “It’s all about the supply ship,” he said. “The Republic can take the capital and the airspace if we can stop their troops from getting the firepower they need. If we can get rid of that supply ship, there’s no need to back up General Kenobi!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kix said, turning to face Hardcase. “Are you proposing Fives fly into enemy airspace, that our trained pilots can’t even take, and destroy an entire control ship without getting blown to bits?”

“No. I’m proposing Fives _and I_ fly into enemy airspace.”

Kix sighed. “Alright then. How do you think you’re going to accomplish that? As soon as the seppies see one of our ships, you’re both goners.”

Jesse gasped and his eyes widened comically. “You can take the Umbaran fighters!”

“That’s perfect,” Fives replied, a mischievous smile curling his lips. “If they think we’re one of them, we can slip past their defenses before they ever knew we were there. Look, General Skywalker blew up a droid control ship when he was just a kid, and he told me the trick was hitting their main reactor from the inside. If we can take some of those explosives the Umbarans had all over this kriffing base, we can slip in and slip out before blowing the whole place to _haran._ ”

“And you figured out how to fly them already? When you and Rex snuck into the base?” Kix asked.

“As well as I need to,” Fives replied. “We can be in and out before Krell ever has to notice we were gone.”

“This is risky,” Jesse said. “Even if we can pull it off before Krell notices, he is going to court martial us.” Fives wasn’t sure when Jesse had been added to their roster, but he wouldn’t argue with having the extra man power.

Picking up his chirping comm, Kix replied, “I’m needed in medbay to prepare the medics before moving out for the march.” Kix stood from his chair and grabbed his bag from where it was sitting at his feet. He gripped Jesse’s chin and pulled him into a sound kiss, eyes slipping shut for just a moment. “You better pray their _Jetii_ brother-in-law can save you if you go through with this,” he whispered barely an inch away from Jesse’s lips, holding his eyes as he did so. “Do the right thing, Jess.”

“I will,” Jesse answered.

Fives could only hope he would bring Jesse back to Kix.

***

“Tell me about your _ik’aad_ , Fives,” Hardcase called from across the hangar.

They were lucky enough to be called in to work on decrypting the software and checking over the ordnance in the last unchecked hangar on the base. When they arrived, Fives sent the couple of lingering troopers from the previous shift off to get some rest before the march. He was sure to lock the main access door behind them when he could no longer hear their boots echoing down the hall.

The room itself was one of the smaller hangars they had come across since capturing the base. It seemed to mostly be used for storage of various odds and ends, and only housed a few of the star fighters they had found. Otherwise, there were crates of ammunition stored against every available wall. It was likely used as overflow storage during the most active of the battles.

Fives was slid under one of the fighters trying to make sense of anything he was seeing, while Jesse and Hardcase went through the decrypting process. As well as anticipating any particularly nasty surprises from the Umbarans, they were working to pull the hangar itself from the main detection grid. As it was, they only had about 10 hours until they were slated to head out for the capital.

“What would you like to know?” Fives grunted, prying open another panel on the underside of the ship.

“Well, Rex said it was a girl earlier right?” Hardcase asked, scuffing his boots against the floor as he worked.

Fives huffed a disbelieving little laugh as he rifled through the wires. “Yeah. We only found out last night actually. Came up on the scans Kix did. He figured after- well it was good news to get when things were so tense.”

“Yeah,” Hardcase replied. “Well congrats on the daughter, _vod_. It’ll be a weird change of pace.”

Humming in acknowledgement, Fives popped the panels back onto the fighter and slid out from under it. He climbed inside the pod itself and started poking at the various controls. Of course, it would be too easy for any of them to be in something he could understand like Basic.

“So,” Hardcase started again, still looking down at the data console in front of him, “when is Rex due?”

Jesse glanced up at Hardcase from the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow at his batchmate.

“What?” Hardcase asked. “I’m bored and _the baby of two clone troopers_ is a hell of a lot more interesting than watching the decryption software run.”

Shaking his head, Jesse bumped his shoulder into Hardcase’s and their armor clacking together in the domed room echoed and bounced off the walls. “Yeah, you’ve got me there, _vod. " _

Different florescent screens flashed in front of Fives as he worked through what little he could understand of the Umbara language. “I’m fine with that. I think my mate and baby are more interesting than most things.”

“Of course you do,” Jesse quipped. “How else would you have gotten the baby in the first place?”

In a fit of childishness befitting a cadet on Kamino, Fives pulled ration bar from his belt and launched it at Jesse’s head. “Anyways,” he shouted over the half hysterical giggles of Hardcase and Jesse, “Rex is due right at the end of the year. During the Festival of Stars.”

Jesse wiped the tears from his eyes with the rough pads of his gloves. “That’s your anniversary isn’t it?”

Fives snorted at him and went back to his work. “How do you even remember that, _chakaar_?”

“Hmm,” Jesse’s eyes squinted for a moment and he glanced off to the side before plastering a smile back over his features. “Because we were docked above that one Mid Rim planet when you announced you two had said your vows. Anakin had gotten us that good beer from the surface and we had to operate with a skeleton crew the next morning because so many of us had that vicious hangover.”

“Oh kriff, don’t remind me,” Hardcase said with a grimace.

They each went back to their designated tasks, but it wasn’t long before Hardcase was tapping his fingers against his armor and shifting from foot to foot. “What about names then?” He asked finally. “I know there’s still a lot of time to decide, but have you two talked about what you want to name her yet?”

Fives looked past the screens zipping past him, reflecting the data scrolling from Jesse’s console as it ran a last decryption of the fighter. His eyes were wistful and his shoulders relaxed down and away from his ears. “Yeah, we’ve talked a little here and there about it. It’s a bigger decision than either of us had considered before. Truthfully, I forgot we get to name her at first.” Fives reached back to rub at his neck and adjust his pauldron around his shoulders to take some of the pressure from his collar bone. “It’s a weird thought, you know? Names or not we’ve still got these numbers branded into our wrists. But she’ll get to know a different life than that and sometimes I have to remind myself that she doesn’t belong to the _ Kaminiise, Jetiise, ra Tsad Droten. Val mav."_

It was a novel idea, one he hadn’t had the opportunity to give voice to before. It was fitting to Fives that such a dangerous idea remain in the language of the men that would understand the most.

He shook his head and pulled back to focus on Jesse and Hardcase staring at him from the data console. “Sorry about that. Got a little lost for a minute,” he said sheepishly, dropping his arm to his side again. “Names, right. Rex was talking about doing something Mando’a but I thought something more Coruscanti or Core would fit better seeing as Mandalore isn’t even in the Republic anymore. It makes sense though. Considering how close his batch was to Fett, they’re probably as close to _Mando’ade _as any clone can be. I figure we’ll compromise eventually and go with something Mando’a.”

Jesse snorted and Hardcase elbowed him in the side.

“Yeah. Compromise,” Jesse laughed.

Fives reclined back in the seat as far as he could and braced his hands behind his head. “Well, as soon as I can _gotenir, vaal akaan _no less, I’ll push for an equal opinion on that one. Seeing as that’s not karking likely, I’ll let Rex use a baby book from whatever language he wants.”

As soon as Fives finished speaking, rhythmic beeping sounded from both the data console and the star fighter.

“Decryption is finished,” Jesse announced. “We’re good to go.”

“Well,” Fives said, hopping down from the ship and stretching out his joints, “we’re on a time limit, _vode_. If we’re going to do this, we better start sooner rather than later.”

Nodding his head, Hardcase ceased his tapping and scuffling and looked up to meet Fives’s eyes. “Yeah. I’m just about ready. Jesse and I’ll get the other two ships set up with the decryption. It should only take a minute or so,” he said, gathering cables from the floor by his feet. “Wanna go check the coast is clear one last time while we get hooked up?”

Fives hummed in acknowledgement and crossed the hangar to the doors that led to the compound beyond. He disengaged the lock and hit the door release to poke his head out into the hall.

“Everything looks clear to me,” he called, craning his neck to glance at the ships at the other end of the room.

Instead of the hangar, he was met by both Jesse and Hardcase standing directly behind him.

Hardcase struck out first, landing a solid, two-handed shove to Fives’s half exposed sternum. It knocked the air from his lungs and he stumbled a step out into the hall. Fives barely managed to get fully turned around before Hardcase had kicked out with the full force of his corded thighs, a byproduct of spending years training as a heavy gunner. The blow slammed Fives’s belt into his abdomen and sent him skidding on his back. Despite the thrill of adrenaline in his veins, Fives struggled to regain his footing in the shock. By the time he reached the hangar door again, it had been shut and locked from the inside.

“ _Jesse! Hardcase!_ ” He shouted, banging on the sturdy, durasteel door. “What are you karking doing?”

“We’re sorry Fives,” someone called back. Through the muffle of the door, Fives couldn’t tell who it was. “We can’t let you do this. Not with Rex and the baby.”

Fives’s armored hand struck the door once more in frustration before he allowed his weight to sink forward into the durasteel.

From outside the hangar, Fives heard the blast doors open and then the _whoosh_ of two star fighters as they swooped out into the dark Umbaran sky. 

***

Rex was in the shipyard when the blast doors to one of the hangars opened. He scrambled for his datapad as two Umbaran star fighters took off from inside. He nearly dropped it a total of three times in his haste. Finally, with the assignment roster pulled up on his screen, Rex took off running in the direction they had come from, hoping the whole way he would find Fives waiting inside.

***

When the two star fighters landed again, Rex was standing stiffly at attention next to General Krell. Jesse and Hardcase had barely slipped from the seats of the fighters before cuffs were slapped on their wrists and they were dragged away from view. Kix was standing to the side of a medical transport as they took them away.

***

Fives was standing stiffly by the entrance of the bunk room when Rex rounded the corner. Rex stormed past him and slammed his hand onto the door release before striding inside. It was pitch dark when it slid shut behind them again. Fives felt around blindly to switch on the lights, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the change.

Rex almost couldn’t look at him. Every time he glanced up and saw Fives’s face washed out in the harsh lights, he flushed warm with frustration again. He turned away to toss his helmet down on one of the bunks and pulled his arms up behind his head to force even breaths into his lungs. Rex jumped when Fives’s hand landed on his shoulder and he pulled back out of the hold, hips slamming into the table behind him.

“Don’t,” Rex growled.

Fives huffed a humorless laugh and reached around Rex to set his own helmet down behind him. “Don’t what?”

He stayed pressed close to Rex’s side, so Rex brushed past him to put distance between them. “You don’t get to come in here and act like there’s nothing wrong. You know I’m angry, so don’t touch me.”

Fives braced his arms on the table behind him and hung his head. His jaw was moving back and forth but he didn’t answer.

The air from the filtration system blew just this side of too cold, and the iciness raised the hairs on the back of Rex’s neck. “What were you thinking, Fives?” He burst out when the oppressive silence encroached a little too far.

“Something had to be done, Rex,” he answered, voice low and eyes still cast towards the floor.

“So, you what?” Rex asked. “Decided treason was the answer then? You thought you knew better and you’d go behind _my_ back and do whatever you wanted regardless of the consequences?”

“This has nothing to do with going behind your back.” Fives voice was calm when he spoke, but there was a tremor there that warbled his words. “This is about doing the right thing regardless of what the General thinks for the sake of our men.”

“Yeah? Well I just talked to the karking General. Jesse has taken responsibility for all of it. I think it goes without saying that the General wasn’t thrilled. Jesse and Hardcase are getting court martialed for this and you’re lucky Jesse took the fall for you.” Rex shook his head. “I mean really, Fives. What the kriff was this?”

“I don’t know what kind of answer you’re looking for here, Rex,” Fives replied. “We saw what was happening and we decided we had to stop anymore senseless loss of life. What’s done is done now.”

“Answer this then. Did you intend to go up to that supply ship with Jesse and Hardcase?” Rex’s voice was deadly calm, but he gripped the railing on a bunk to stop his hands from shaking. He was grateful for the support because Fives’s answer nearly took him to his knees.

“Yes. I originally planned to go alone. Jesse and Hardcase volunteered to go with me but they locked me out of the hangar before takeoff to keep me here.”

Rex stared at Fives’s armored chest and blinked rapidly to keep the the blurry moisture at bay. “Was I in this decision at all?”

Fives jerked his head up and he held Rex’s gaze, his chest rising and falling frantically the longer they stared at each other. “Every decision I make revolves around you. Don’t ever ask me that again.”

The fabric of Rex’s gloves squeaked where he gripped the bunk. He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes closed against the panic rising in his chest. ”There’s nothing I can do for them now. You know that right?”

Fives remained silent across the room.

“ _Answer me!_ ” Rex’s voice reverberated through the high ceilings.

Fives’s eyes twitched then narrowed and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “I know.”

“Do you? _Maybe_ if I had known upfront you were going to do something so karking reckless I could’ve tried to convince the General first. Little gods, Fives! I probably could’ve tried to help you pull it off! But now Jesse and Hardcase have been carted off and there is _nothing_ I can do to help them. If they decommission Jesse over this, Kix will never be right again. I wouldn’t be either if it had been you.”

“Jesse and Hardcase are heroes. What they did is going to save lives.”

“They probably are. But that doesn’t change what they have just sacrificed.”

Fives pushed off from the table and crossed the distance between in them in a few long strides. “That’s rich coming from you. Not 18 hours ago you said we were honor bound to lay down our lives! What makes this any different?”

“Because this one is on you,” Rex said, jamming his finger roughly into Fives’s pauldron. “This is not about the war. Right now, I don’t care about the karking war. I don’t care about Krell or Umbara or even the fucking Republic! I care that I don’t lose you and that’s what could have happened because you didn’t have the sense to come to me about it!”

Fives erupted. “I chose to do this because _you_ couldn’t afford that march into the capital!” He roughly brushed away Rex’s hand still resting on his shoulder. “It was this or put our men, you, and _our daughter_ on the line! We were out of options and you were wasting your time standing there with the General’s hand up your _shebs_ like a karking puppet!”

“I would’ve been fine! I would’ve been even better if you had told me what you were going to do! Instead, you were willing to fly into a war zone without saying a word to me about it.”

“Oh come off it, Rex. Acting like I wouldn’t have commed you before I did it."

“You’re missing the karking point! _Maybe_ they would’ve brought me your bucket if you had died but I want our daughter to have both of her parents when she gets here!”

“And I want her to make it that long!”

Rex jerked back as if he had been hit. He bit into the meat of his cheek to stave off the the shocked tears that pooled to the corners of his eyes. “That’s what you’d like to throw in my face then? Thinking I was losing my baby not 12 hours ago?”

Fives face softened and his voice was quieter when he spoke. “That’s not what I meant,” he rushed out breathlessly.

“I don’t care what you meant,” Rex replied, taking a step closer so he was nearly nose to nose with Fives. “You will not act as if being pregnant has made me any less competent. I will not tolerate it. I never asked for any of this and I’m not going to be talked down to as if I’m no longer capable of handling my men and myself.” Rex imagined for a moment that he could feel a flutter of movement underneath the thick pad of his armor, and he pressed his palm to his stomach “You don’t get to make those calls. Be careful though. You’re starting to sound an awful lot like General Krell.”

Fives reached out and grabbed Rex’s shoulder to hold him in place. “Don’t compare me to that monster,” he growled.

Rex was silent when he shrugged of the hand and made his way to the door across the room.

“Where are you going?” Fives yelled when Rex didn’t respond.

“To do my kriffing job. Maybe you should get started on that.”

“Huh,” Fives huffed. “You were nicer when you smoked you know.” It was low, Fives knew that. But it felt good and Rex flinched when the words hit him.

“Yeah?” He called from the door, back firmly to Fives. “Well, you married me. Not your duty or the Republic. Me. Act like it next time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations:
> 
> vod- brother, comrade, “mate”  
> aliit- clan, family  
> cyare- beloved  
> ik’aad- baby  
> riduur- partner, spouse, husband, wife  
> shebs- ass, backside, rear, buttocks  
> haran- hell  
> Jetii- Jedi  
> chakaar- corpse robber, thief, petty criminal - general term of abuse  
> Kaminiise, Jetiise, ra Tsad Droten. Val mav.- Kaminoans, the Jedi, or the Republic. She is free.  
> Mando’ade- Mandalorians (pl) - sons and/or daughters of Mandalore  
> gotenir, vaal akaan- give birth, during the war


End file.
